UFC Vegas 72 has lost its main event.
Lightweight hopeful, Renato “Moicano” Carneiro (17-5-1), has suffered a knee injury, forcing him out of his April 29, 2023, showdown with the No. 8-ranked contender, Arman Tsarukyan (19-3), according to MMA Fighting. MMA Junkie was first to confirm the change.
It’s unknown at this time if Tsarukyan will wind up getting a replacement for his would-be second-career UFC main event. His manager, Danny Rubenstein, however, isn’t so optimistic.
“Death, taxes and nobody available to fight Arman on 2 weeks notice are the only certainties in my life right now,” Rubenstein quote tweeted in response to the news.
Both Tsarukyan and Moicano were set to collide after scoring rebound victories in their last appearances against Damir Ismagulov and Brad Riddell (watch highlights), respectively. Like Tsarukyan, the pairing would have also been Moicano’s second time heading a UFC event. This cancelation marks the fourth time Moicano has withdrawn from a bout in UFC.
Tsarukyan has been touted as one of the most dangerous up-and-comers since his April 2019 arrival in the promotion where he lost a hard-fought unanimous decision to the now-champion, Islam Makhachev.
The current 12-fight UFC Vegas 72 line up can be seen below.
- 155lbs.: Arman Tsarukyan vs. TBD
- 185lbs.: Caio Borralho vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
- 265lbs.: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Marcos Rogerio
- 185lbs.: Cody Brundage vs. Rodolfo Vieira
- 170lbs.: Ange Loosa vs. Josh Quinlan
- 115lbs.: Emily Ducote vs. Polyana Viana
- 155lbs.: Natan Levy vs. Pete Rodriguez
- 135lbs.: Brian Kelleher vs. Journey Newson
- 265lbs.: Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
- 125lbs.: Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
- 145lbs.: Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
- 135lbs.: Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
- 135lbs.: Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie Egger