Islam Makhachev will not face Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC 311 tomorrow night as planned.
However, the lightweight champion will still defend his title, with undercard fighter Renato Moicano making a belated intervention. The Brazilian pushed hard to make the championship weight of 155 pounds for his fight with Beneil Dariush, and now gets his shot at gold.
Tsarukyan's reason for withdrawing appears to be injury as he didn't even make the scales for the main event. But there will still be two world title fights involving members of Khabib Nurmagomedov's team, while Umar Nurmagomedov arrived for his bantamweight fight with Merab Dvalishvili.
Arman Tsarukyan is missing from the main event of UFC 311
During the weigh-ins for UFC 311, news began to leak that there was a chance that Arman Tsarukyan would withdraw from the fight. Red Corner MMA announced the news by confirming the details on social media, noting that an injury had ruled him out of the fight.
Islam Makhachev came in second on the scales this morning, coming in at a surprisingly light weight of just 154.5 pounds, under the championship limit. But Tsarukyan was nowhere to be seen as the rest of the card settled and rumors spread that he was out.
Bloody Elbow sources confirmed Red Corner MMA's report that the challenger is out of the fight tomorrow night, but the lightweight title will still be defended. Tsarukyan had previously claimed during a documentary that he was “not 100 percent involved” in MMA.
“You yourself told us that you are not 100% invested in MMA and that there are a lot of guys working harder and yet you are one step away from becoming the best lightweight in the world. Have you ever asked yourself, 'What if I invested 100% in MMA?', his friend asked.
“Well, now we'll see. The title fight will show whether a man who has not invested 100% in this company can still make it,” Tsarukyan responded.
Dana White confirms Renato Moicano will perform for the UFC 311 main event
Moments after Bloody Elbow's report went live, Dana White took to social media to share the news that Renato Moicano would be stepping in to take the fight. He also claimed that the UFC will “figure out” what to do with Dariush, who is now without a fight.
Moicano is currently on a four-fight win streak and is one of the most exciting fighters in the promotion's lightweight division. He told the promotion last night that he would be willing to lose the extra pounds to make it to championship weight, and now gets the opportunity of a lifetime.
Dustin Poirier and Diego Lopes offer to step in for the new UFC 311 main event
While Renato Moicano and Beneil Dariush were always at the forefront of Makhachev's potential opponents, a number of big names offered their services. Dustin Poirier and Diego Lopes have both taken to social media to announce their interest in making the fight happen.
Lopes is the number three featherweight in the world but has only made one appearance in the weights in a short notice catchweight fight against Dan Ige. Meanwhile, Poirier was the last man to challenge Makhachev at UFC 301 last summer, losing by fifth-round submission.
Poirier tweeted a teasing message to the UFC with a money emoji and the words “Hit me up,” while Lopes shared a phone emoji with a few emojis. Former champion Charles Oliveira also posted a video of himself in the sauna teasing a possible weight cut!
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