After being forced to pull out of his UFC 311 title shot against Islam Makhachev due to a last-minute back injury, Arman Tsarukyan has found himself sidelined from the title conversation. What makes it worse for him is that Charles Oliveira, the last guy he defeated is now back in contention before him.
Following the UFC 311 PPV, Dana White ensured it was understood by everyone present that Tsarukyan’s 11th-hour withdrawal didn’t sit well with the brass. The Armenian fighter now has to start at the back of the queue and take the long road back to the top again. However, Tsarukyan himself wants a fight with Oliveira.
“I don’t know how much more they want me to fight to be the No. 1 contender again. But I know I’m the best in the division. If it’s Oliveira, this fight makes sense because I beat him. So, how can he be the contender?”
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Tsarukyan does have a point and perhaps the UFC is not being fair. However, Oliveira is a former lightweight champion with multiple title defenses. And his loss against Tsarukyan was a split decision by the judges.
So the argument that perhaps Oliveira doesn’t deserve might not exactly hold water at the UFC, more so with fans since Do Bronx is a legend and one of the most beloved fighters of this generation.
Arman, on the other hand, seems to have let a lot of people down due to the pull-out.
Tsarukyan explains back injury
No, contrary to popular belief, Tsarukyan didn’t mess up his back showing off to Nina Marie Daniele.
Arman Tsarukyan just FOUR days ago, with an existing back injury, trying to impress Nina Drama. You can’t make this sh*t up pic.twitter.com/JfCgA8VkfP
— Pedro Yan (@QuisqueyanoMMA) January 17, 2025
The Armenian fighter has revealed that his troubles started during a Wednesday training session when he felt an unexpected pain in his lower back.
“I was feeling like crazy pain in my lower back. That morning I didn’t train… After the press conference, it felt okay, and I started to cut my weight. But during the weight cut, it just started (hurting) when I was doing the bike… I couldn’t even move on my bed.”
Arman Tsarukyan explains why he pulled out the day before he was supposed to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 311. (YT/ Jaxxon Podcast) pic.twitter.com/EiGVC5aXzN
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 22, 2025
The pain was so severe that Tsarukyan couldn’t sleep, let alone prepare for a championship fight. Despite his best efforts to push through, his body simply wouldn’t cooperate. Ultimately, he was left with no choice but to pull out, a decision he admitted was incredibly tough to make.
While the injury might have set back his career aspirations at least for a year, it is good to see that the young fighter is on the mend and remains determined to earn the right to fight for UFC gold once again.
