UFC issues update on injured Arman Tsarukyan’s title shot against Islam Makhachev
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A back injury ruled Tsarukyan out of his fight with Makhachev, as Renato Moicano stepped in and lost on one day’s notice. Dana White has issued an update on Arman Tsarukyan’s title shot against Islam Makhachev – and it’s not good news for the No 1 contender.
Tsarukyan suffered a back injury one day before UFC 311, scuppering his long-awaited rematch with Makhachev, who holds the lightweight title. Renato Moicano was drafted in for Tsarukyan, ultimately suffering a first-round submission loss to Makhachev.
Tsarukyan will have hoped that his rematch with Makhachev – who outpointed the Armenian-Russian in 2019 – would simply be rescheduled for later this year, but that does not look likely right now. UFC president White was asked about the match-up after UFC 311 on Saturday (18 January), and said: “[Tsarukyan] is not getting a title shot. That means he’s going to have to fight his way back to the title.
“He’s going back to the drawing board. I don’t want anybody to ever fight hurt ever, we’ve been in these positions before, [but]... “Went down there with the doctor, went down there with Heather [Linden] from the [UFC Performance Institute] ... and you miss opportunities sometimes, and he did. So, we’ll see how this plays out for him next year.
“I have no idea [if he could have fought]. I don’t know that, only he knows that.”. Surprisingly, Tsarukyan agreed with White’s suggestion that the 28-year-old must prove himself worthy of a title shot again. “I agree with Dana White,” Tsarukyan tweeted. “Once my back heals, I’ll be ready to prove I’m the true No 1 contender by taking on anyone they put in front of me! [Charles Oliveira] in a five rounder makes [the] most sense.”.
