“He’s back to the drawing board”

UFC president Dana White didn’t appear too thrilled with Arman Tsarukyan after 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 sustained during the weight cut forced Tsarukyan to retire and he was replaced by Renato Moicano.

Makhachev easily defeated Moicano via submission in the first round to retain his title. During the post-event presser, White was asked if Tsarukyan would make his next title shot after recovering.

White quickly replied, “No. He’s going back to the drawing board. I don’t want anybody to ever fight hurt, ever, you know. We’ve been in these positions before. We went down there with the doctor. We went down there with Heather from PI. You can ask anyone from PI or anywhere else, she’s the best in the world. You miss out, and he did. So we’ll see how it goes be this for next year.”

Next year? Like 2026 or this year, like 2025? He was not asked to clarify that part of his answer. 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 the answer below.

Tsarukyan was active on social networks after the incident. He congratulated Makhachev on his win and offered encouragement to Umar Nurmagomedov, who was unsuccessful in his bid to dethrone Merab Dvalishvili in the co-event.

Tsarukyan also agreed with White’s assessment that he would need to fight again to earn a title shot.

He even suggested a rematch with Charles Oliveira to confirm his place as the No. 1 contender. 1.

Tsarukyan’s championship opportunity was originally on track for the fall of 2024. However, Tsarukyan was hit with a suspension after punching a fan during his exit at UFC 300 in April 2024 before his fight with Oliveira.

Essentially, the UFC and Makhachev were waiting for Tsarukyan to become available for the possibility of UFC 311. When he pulled out, it appears that White is now ready to push the 28-year-old back into line while the other 155-pound contenders could 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 by unanimous decision (48-47×2, 49-46) – FOTN
• Jiří Procházka def. Jamahal Hills via third round TKO (POTN)
• Jailton Almeida def. Sergey Spivac via first round TKO (POTN)
• Reinier de Ridder def. Kevin Holland via first round submission (bare choke from behind)
• Raoni Barcelos def. Payton Talbott by 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 defined. Diego Ferreira by unanimous decision (30-27×3)
• Ailín Pérez def. Karol Rosa by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2)
• Muin Gafurov def. Rinya Nakamura by unanimous decision (30-27×3)
• Bernardo Sopaj def. Ricky Turcios by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2)
• Tagir Ulanbekov def. Clayton Carpenter by unanimous decision (30-27×2, 29-28)