Arman Tsarukyan reacts to being removed from title contendership by Dana White after 11th-hour pullout from UFC 311

Arman Tsarukyan responded to UFC CEO Dana White's statement denying him a title shot next. Tsarukyan had to withdraw from his lightweight title fight against champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 due to a back injury sustained on the day of weigh-ins.

During the post-fight press conferece, White suggested that Tsarukyan would not be the next challenger to the title and indicated that he would need to earn his title shot. MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter shared White's statement on X. In response to the post, Tsarukyan stated:

"I agree with @danawhite. Once my back heals, I’ll be ready to prove I’m the true #1 contender by taking on anyone they put in front of me!"

When White was asked if Tsarukyan would fight for the title after recovering from his injury, the UFC boss clearly stated that this would not be the case. However, he made cryptic comments about the Armenian's pullout, stating:

"No, No! He's going back to the drawing board. I don't want anybody to ever fight [while being] hurt, ever. We've been in these positions before. Went down there with the doctor, went down with [Dr. Heather Linden, Doctor of Physical Therapy] from the P.I. You're gonna ask any fighter or anybody else, she's the best in the world! And, you miss opportunity sometimes and he did. So, we'll see how this plays out for him next year."

White's cryptic comments led a member of MMA media to question if the UFC boss believed Tsarukyan could have competed at UFC 311. White replied:

"I have no idea. I don't know that. Only he knows that."

Check out Dana White's comments below (1:39):

After Tsarukyan withdrew from the UFC 311 main event, No.10-ranked Renato Moicano stepped in to fight the champion on 24-hour notice. In the fight, the Brazilian began with calculated aggression, landing a few jabs and low kicks. However, Makhachev managed to secure a takedown and forced Moicano to tap out to a D'Arce choke in the first round to retain the lightweight title.