Dana White: Arman Tsarukyan Will Not Get Next UFC Lightweight Title Fight

Dana White: Arman Tsarukyan Will Not Get Next Lightweight Title Fight

Arman Tsarukyan pulled out of his UFC 311 lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev one day before the fight was scheduled. The event continued with Renato Moicano stepping in to take Tsarukyan’s place. Makhachev won the short-notice matchup and kept his title. As a result, he needs a new title challenger. The UFC is not interested in giving that honor to Tsarukyan after the events of UFC 311.

UFC CEO Dana White gave his opinion on Tsarukyan’s future in his UFC 311 post-fight press conference.

“No,” White said when asked if Tsarukyan would be rebooked in another title fight. “He’s going back to the drawing board.“

“You miss opportunities sometimes, and he did. We will see how this plays out for him next year.”

Tsarukyan will be forced to work back to another title fight. That is a tough task considering the overall quality of the division. The positive aspect of the situation is that it should not take him long to get back into title talks. The 28-year-old is 9-2 in the UFC and is riding a four-fight win streak. If he can defeat a respected lightweight contender the UFC will likely offer him another title opportunity.

The UFC will be forced to find a new challenger for the lightweight championship. Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway are the most likely benefactors of Tsarukyan’s absence. Oliveira is 2-1 since he lost to Makhavhev in 2022. The former champion is the highest-ranked contender outside of Tsarukyan. Meanwhile, Holloway is coming off a loss in a featherweight title fight against Ilia Topuria; however, his case for a title fight comes off the back of his UFC 300 victory over Justin Gaethje. That bout proved he belongs in high-level lightweight fights.

UFC 311: Five Things We Learned

Tsarukyan will have plenty of options for his next fight. In these circumstances, any fighter that could beat Tsarukyan would be putting themselves in a great position to fight for the title. That could draw the interest of any ranked lightweight.

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