MMA star with USADA history claims weight cutting caused Arman Tsarukyan's "heartbreaking" pullout from UFC 311: "The biggest legal cheating method"

A former UFC fighter recently made a stunning revelation regarding Arman Tsarukyan's withdrawal from UFC 311. According to the individual, Tsarukyan's injury that prevented him from competing in the year's first pay-per-view event may have been caused by extreme weight cutting.

Tsarukyan was set to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in the main event of UFC 311 this past weekend at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. However, last Friday, the Armenian pulled himself out of the contest due to a back injury, forcing another fighter on the card, Renato Moicano to step in on short notice and face Makhachev.

The person in question, Josh Barnett, talked about the severe weight-cutting measures fighters go through during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, referring to it as a legitimate form of cheating. He said:

''I think weight cutting is the number one most dangerous element to the sport of MMA and the biggest legal cheating method that has ever been allowed in combat sports...You don't get Arman Tsarukyan having back problems if you don't have insane weight cutting. How heartbreaking?How awful? I truly believe that in doing his [Tsarukyan] weight cuts, he probabaly did hit a huge back spasm, that completely took him by surprise.''

Check out Barnett's comments below:

As for Barnett, he holds a professional record of 35-8. In his last MMA outing at UFC Fight Night 93 in 2016, the 47-year-old faced Andrei Arlovski in a heavyweight bout and secured a submission victory in the third round.

He was then released from the promotion in 2018 after his issues with USADA. The former heavyweight champion previously tested positive for ostarine in Dec. 2016 and was cleared to fight in 2018 after receiving a public reprimand.

---

Arman Tsarukyan must re-enter the race for UFC gold, according to Dana White

Arman Tsarukyan pulled himself out of the title fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 due to a back injury. Given his top contender status, many believe that Tsarukyan's next fight would be for the lightweight title, however, Dana White thinks otherwise.

During the post-fight press conference, White revealed that Tsarukyan needs to fight to get back in title contention, saying:

''He’s going back to the drawing board. I don’t want anybody to fight hurt, ever...He’s not getting the title shot, that means he’s going to have to fight his way back to the title.” [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Check out Dana White's comments below: