UFC President Dana White didn’t appear too thrilled with Arman Tsarukyan following UFC 311. Tsarukyan pulled out of the main event, where he was supposed to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight championship.
A back and neck injury suffered during the weight cut forced Tsarukyan to withdraw, and he was replaced by Renato Moicano.
Makhachev easily defeated Moicano via first-round submission to retain his title. During the post-event presser, White was asked if Tsarukyan would get the next title shot once he recovered.
White quickly responded, “No. He’s going back to the drawing board. I don’t want anybody to ever fight hurt, ever, ya know. We’ve been in these positions before. We went down there with the doctor. We went down there with Heather from the P.I. You can ask anybody from the P.I. or anywhere else, they’ll tell you, she’s the best in the world. You miss opportunities sometimes, and he did. So, we’ll see how this plays out for him next year.”
Next year? Like 2026 or this year, as in 2025? He wasn’t asked to clarify that part of his response. White was then asked if he thought Tsarukyan could have fought on Saturday.
“I have no idea. I don’t know that. Only he knows that,” White said. You can watch the question and answer below.
Tsarukyan was active on social media following the event. He congratulated Makhachev on his victory and offered encouragement to Umar Nurmagomedov, who was unsuccessful in his attempt to dethrone Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event.
Tsarukyan also agreed with White’s assessment that he would need to fight his way back up to earn a title shot.
He even suggested a rematch with Charles Oliveira to confirm his spot as the No. 1 contender.
The championship opportunity for Tsarukyan was originally on track for the fall of 2024. However, Tsarukyan was hit with a suspension after punching a fan during his walkout at UFC 300 in April 2024 ahead of his fight with Oliveira.
Essentially, the UFC and Makhachev waited for Tsarukyan to become available for the UFC 311 opportunity. When he pulled out, it appears White is now ready to push the 28-year-old back in the line, while other 155-pound contenders potentially get a shot to dethrone Makhachev.
UFC 311 Results
- (c) Islam Makhachev def. Renato Moicano via first-round submission (D’arce Choke)
- (c) Merab Dvalishvili def. Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (48-47×2, 49-46) – FOTN
- Jiří Procházka def. Jamahal Hill via third-round TKO (POTN)
- Jailton Almeida def. Serghei Spivac via first-round TKO (POTN)
- Reinier de Ridder def. Kevin Holland via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Raoni Barcelos def. Payton Talbott via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27×2)
- Azamat Bekoev def. Zach Reese via first-round KO
- Bogdan Guskarov def. Billy Elekana via second-round submission (guillotine)
- Grant Dawson def. Diego Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
- Ailín Pérez def. Karol Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2)
- Muin Gafurov def. Rinya Nakamura via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
- Bernardo Sopaj def. Ricky Turcios via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2)
- Tagir Ulanbekov def. Clayton Carpenter via unanimous decision (30-27×2, 29-28)