Arman Tsarukyan's title hopes were shattered when he pulled out from his fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 on Friday. Tsarukyan's team told the media that he suffered a back injury and won't be able to take to the octagon. He was replaced by No.10-ranked lightweight Renato Moicano who was submitted by Makhachev in the first round.
Currently, there seems to be no challenger left for Makhachev apart from Tsarukyan. But, UFC President Dana White asserted that the 28-year-old will have to fight his way up again to stake a claim for the belt.
Speaking to the media at the post-fight press conference, White said:
"Arman Tsarukyan needs to go back to the drawing board after withdrawing from the fight and we'll see what the year holds for him."
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Reacting to White's comments, Tsarukyan asserted he will fight back for his place and would like to fight Charles Oliveira in a five-round fight. He said:
"I agree with White. 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! @CharlesDoBronx in 5 rounder makes most sense."
Check out the screenshot of Arman Tsarukyan's post below:
Reacting to Tsarukyan's post, many fans dropped their reaction. One of them wrote:
"Bro you already beat him"
Here are the other fan reactions:
"Come on Arman u vs @RafaelFiziev LETS GO!!"
"No fight Chandler"
Check out the collage of fan reactions to the post below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov expressed his support to Arman Tsarukyan after UFC 311 withdrawal
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov expressed his support to Arman Tsarukyan after the Armenian had to withdraw from UFC 311 main event due to a back injury.
Nurmagomedov compared Tsarukyan's injury to his own in 2017 and expects the 28-year-old to bounce back strongly. Speaking to MMA Orbit, Nurmagomedov said:
“Honestly, I knew this yesterday, at 1 A.M. before I sleep. Honestly, this can happen with anybody. If you guys remember [in] 2017, March, it happened with me too. Then after that, I go to hospital, make surgery, come back and I tell UFC, ‘It was my mistake, give me other best guy. I’m going to beat this guy and deserve my title shot.’ It was the same thing with me. I just want to wish him all the best. He’s young. He’s tough. He can come back. He [has] to survive this situation and come back.”
Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov's comments below: