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Dana White Shuts Down Rumors: Did UFC Punish Arman Tsarukyan Over Title Shot Snub?

Dana White Shuts Down Rumors: Did UFC Punish Arman Tsarukyan Over Title Shot Snub? Dana White kinda sort of addressed rumors that he’s punishing Arman Tsarukyan for his late-notice pull-out of the UFC…

Dana White kinda sort of addressed rumors that he’s punishing Arman Tsarukyan for his late-notice pull-out of the UFC 311 headliner against Islam Makhachev.

Mere hours before he was scheduled to challenge Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title, Tsarukyan bowed out of the bout citing a back injury. It was a shocking turn of events, but fortunately, Renato Moicano was ready to step up to the plate and save the main event.

Following the event, Dana White confirmed that Tsarukyan’s scrap with Makhachev would not be rescheduled and that the Armenian would have to go “back to the drawing board.” That left a lot of fans suggesting that the promotion was punishing Tsarukyan, particularly after rumors started to fly that he wasn’t really injured and instead exited the contest due to complications while cutting weight.

Addressing some of the chatter after Thursday’s Power Slap event in Riyadh, White offered little in the way of an explanation. Instead, he simply told everyone that they’ll have to “watch and see” how the story plays out.

“I know there’s a lot of conspiracy theories out there about this,” White said. “You’ll just have to watch and see how this plays out.”

Arman Tsarukyan names ‘Do Bronx’ and Michael Chandler as potential opponents After Dana White’s title snub

While Arman Tsarukyan is still listed as the top-ranked contender in the lightweight division, he’ll have to fight his way back into the good graces of the UFC before earning his first crack at 155-pound gold.

As it turns out, ‘Ahalkalakets’ already has a couple of big names in mind for his return to the Octagon later this year.

“Islam [Makhachev] gonna come back in summer or October,” Tsarukyan said on the JAXXON podcast. “He’s not gonna fight in April, May or June. Maybe Islam gonna move to 170, and I can fight Charles [Oliveira]. Or if they aren’t going to do that, then I’m gonna fight with Michael Chandler.”

Tsarukyan already holds a victory over ‘Do Bronx,’ besting the Brazilian fan favorite via split decision at UFC 300.

As for Michael Chandler, the former Bellator titleholder has lost four of his last five, but still holds the No. 7 spot in the lightweight rankings so he could be a viable opponent for Tsarukyan.

Dana White Shuts Down Rumors: Did UFC Punish Arman Tsarukyan Over Title Shot Snub?

Dana White kinda sort of addressed rumors that he’s punishing Arman Tsarukyan for his late-notice pull-out of the UFC…

Dana White kinda sort of addressed rumors that he’s punishing Arman Tsarukyan for his late-notice pull-out of the UFC 311 headliner against Islam Makhachev.

“I know there’s a lot of conspiracy theories out there about this,” White said. “You’ll just have to watch and see how this plays out.”

Arman Tsarukyan names ‘Do Bronx’ and Michael Chandler as potential opponents After Dana White’s title snub

As it turns out, ‘Ahalkalakets’ already has a couple of big names in mind for his return to the Octagon later this year.

“Islam [Makhachev] gonna come back in summer or October,” Tsarukyan said on the JAXXON podcast. “He’s not gonna fight in April, May or June. Maybe Islam gonna move to 170, and I can fight Charles [Oliveira]. Or if they aren’t going to do that, then I’m gonna fight with Michael Chandler.”

Tsarukyan already holds a victory over ‘Do Bronx,’ besting the Brazilian fan favorite via split decision at UFC 300.

As for Michael Chandler, the former Bellator titleholder has lost four of his last five, but still holds the No. 7 spot in the lightweight rankings so he could be a viable opponent for Tsarukyan.

Dan Hooker Slams Arman Tsarukyan for ‘Strange’ UFC 311 Withdrawal: ‘Daddy Can’t Buy You a Backbone’

Dan Hooker can’t make sense of Arman Tsarukyan’s sudden withdrawal from UFC 311. Mere hours before he was scheduled…

Dan Hooker can’t make sense of Arman Tsarukyan’s sudden withdrawal from UFC 311.

Mere hours before he was scheduled to step on the scale for his lightweight title tilt against reigning champion Islam Makhachev, ‘Ahalkalakets’ informed the promotion that he would not be able to compete citing a back injury.

Renato Moicano ultimately stepped up to the plate and slid into the main event slot left behind by Tsarukyan, but the alleged injury has left a lot of people scratching their heads. Particularly after UFC CEO Dana White implied that the Armenian could have fought in Los Angeles.

Dan Hooker questions how you get injured ‘on your day off’

‘The Hangman’ echoed a similar sentiment during a recent interview with Submission Radio, questioning how exactly Tsarukyan suffered such a devastating back injury when all he should have been doing was cutting weight.

“That’s our sport. It’s never smooth sailing,” Hooker said. “How are you getting injured on your day off? I’ve got no idea. I thought it was pretty strange, bro. To get such a severe injury that you need to pull out when you’re cutting weight, you know?

“It must be a severe injury. I don’t know how you would pass up on that opportunity. I obviously saw Dana White just say that he ain’t getting the title shot next, and he’s going to have to work his way back up to the belt. You know, Daddy can’t buy you a backbone, can he?”

Perhaps we’ll never know the full truth, but there are plenty of theories out there. Former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett placed the blame on “insane weight cutting” during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.

Others have suggested that Tsarukyan may have legitimately injured himself while showing UFC interviewer Nina-Marie Daniele some intense wrestling and stretching drills, which appeared to strain his backbone and neck, though Tsarukyan and Daniele have both attempted to pour cold water on that claim.

Arman Tsarukyan wrestling warmups are INSANE! WOW!

Nina Drama x @ArmanUfc fight vlog out tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/tXOrgR8Kso

— Nina-Marie Daniele (@ninamdrama) January 13, 2025

“No, that thing I’m doing every day as part of my warm-up, so if I had a problem during training camp, how could I do this exercise? You know, I didn’t feel anything; I was good and ready,” Tsarukyan told Helwani. “I was training very hard, and during the week, I had good energy and no problems. It just happened, you know.”

Ex-Heavyweight Champion Blames ‘Insane Weight Cutting’ on Arman Tsarukyan’s UFC 311 Exit

Hours away from his first UFC title opportunity, Arman Tsarukyan was forced to bow out of his lightweight headliner…

Hours away from his first UFC title opportunity, Arman Tsarukyan was forced to bow out of his lightweight headliner with Islam Makhachev.

Tsarukyan ultimately withdrew from his UFC 311 headliner against the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ citing a back injury. However, some have suggested that there may be more to the Armenian’s exit than what he’s letting on.

During an in-studio appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett suggested the blame could potentially be placed on “insane weight-cutting” measures that resulted in ‘Ahalkalakets’ sustaining the unforeseen injury.

“You don’t get Arman Tsarukyan having back problems if you don’t have insane weight cutting,” Barnett said. “I truly believe that in doing his weight cut, he probably did hit a huge back spasm out of nowhere that completely took him by surprise. And was bad enough that, one, it was obviously going to impact his ability to cut weight, so how is he gonna make the weight class? And, two, could could be severe enough that he wouldn’t feel up to being able to compete the next day.”

“And this all comes from fighting under a ruleset that encourages you to game the system because everyone is doing it and there’s no way around it really.”

Dana White Implies Tsarukyan could have competed at UFC 311

Barnett isn’t the first person to imply that there was something a little suspicious behind Tsarukyan’s withdrawal.

During the UFC 311 post-fight press conference, CEO Dana White made it clear that he never wants to encourage a fighter to compete injured before revealing that ‘Ahalkalakets’ would have to “go back to the drawing” board if he hopes to get another crack at the 155-pound crown.

Tsarukyan has since snapped back at White during his own interview with Helwani, claiming he “couldn’t walk,” let alone compete on Saturday night in Los Angeles, but is more than willing to work his way back up the contender’s ladder if necessary.

Charles Oliveira Has Different Next UFC Fight In Mind Despite Arman Tsarukyan Callout

Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is after redemption next time out, but not necessarily opposite Arman Tsarukyan. Oliveira was in Los Angeles last week, expecting to see his likely next opponent decided in a planned title clash between champ Islam Makhachev and challenger Tsarukyan at UFC 311. But after the Armenian withdrew 24 hours […]

Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is after redemption next time out, but not necessarily opposite Arman Tsarukyan.

Oliveira was in Los Angeles last week, expecting to see his likely next opponent decided in a planned title clash between champ Islam Makhachev and challenger Tsarukyan at UFC 311.

But after the Armenian withdrew 24 hours out from the pay-per-view event through injury, Oliveira’s countryman Renato Moicano stepped in and was quickly submitted inside Inglewood’s Intuit Dome.

With that turn of events, it’s unclear what lies ahead for Makhachev following his fourth successful defense, especially after UFC CEO Dana White stated in no uncertain terms that Tsarukyan must re-earn the title opportunity he initially secured with a win over Oliveira last April.

The man ousted from the number one contender spot seemingly plans to repeat the feat, pitching a five-round rematch with “Do Bronx” following this past weekend’s disappointment.

But should the wait for a potential second clash with Makhachev be too long for his liking, a sophomore dance with Tsarukyan apparently won’t be the direction Oliveira looks in.

During a recent interview with the UFC, the Brazilian pointed to a different former adversary whom he’d like to run it back with.

“I prefer to leave it to my managers and focus only on training and being with my family, but we’ll have to see when he (Makhachev) will want to come back now,” Oliveira said. “If he only wants to fight in October, I definitely want to fight before that, so why not challenge Max Holloway for the BMF belt?

“I think Max himself talked about it (a possible rematch). We met before, but I suffered an injury right in the beginning, so there wasn’t an actual fight,” Oliveira continued. “I think we deserve to make this fight happen. He’s moved up, he’s the BMF, the toughest one. I’m very tough myself, I hold a lot of UFC records, so that would be huge.”

When the pair first fought back in 2015, a sudden oesophagus injury sustained by Oliveira handed Holloway the win by TKO.

Talk of a rematch between the pair arose last November in the aftermath of “Do Bronx’s” win over Michael Chandler, with “Blessed” welcoming the chance to defend his symbolic BMF belt for the first time opposite the Brazilian fan favorite.

UFC Star Arman Tsarukyan Claps Back at Dana White’s Injury Remarks!

Arman Tsarukyan didn’t take kindly to Dana White’s implication that he could have fought at UFC 311. Hours before…

Arman Tsarukyan didn’t take kindly to Dana White’s implication that he could have fought at UFC 311.

Hours before he was scheduled to step on the scale for his first UFC title opportunity, Tsarukyan bowed out of his lightweight headliner with Islam Makhachev citing a back injury. As a result, Renato Moicano was pulled from his main card slot against Beneil Dariush and thrust into the main event spotlight.

Following the event, White declared in no uncertain terms that Tsarukyan’s title fight against Makhachev would not be rebooked. Instead, the Armenian will have to go “back to the drawing” board and climb his way back up the contender’s ladder.

“He’s going back to the drawing board,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “You miss opportunities sometimes, and he did. We’ll see how this plays out for him next year… He’s not getting the title shot, that means he’s going to have to fight his way back to the title.”

While Tsarukyan seemed to agree with his boss, suggesting a rematch with Charles Oliveira as his next fight. But ‘Ahalkalakets’ also addressed White’s insinuation that he could have competed in Los Angeles.

Arman Tsarukyan on Dana White's reaction to him not fighting at UFC 311:

"Maybe a doctor told him I could fight, I don't know… I wanted to be in this fight more than anyone. Even if I lost but looked good… I could have made good money, but I couldn't walk." pic.twitter.com/gGD0m8D1PM

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 20, 2025

“Maybe a doctor told him I could fight, I don’t know… I wanted to be in this fight more than anyone,” Tsarukyan said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “Even if I lost but looked good… I could have made good money, but I couldn’t walk.”

Arman Tsarukyan details devastating back injury

In that same interview with Helwani, Tsarukyan offered some insight into the injury that took him out of UFC 311.

“Wednesday after training, I went to sleep, and I started to feel my lower back, and I couldn’t sleep all night and thought something happened,” Tsarukyan said. “[I] took some painkiller, but it didn’t help. The next day, I thought it’s going to be good, and after [the] press conference, I’m going to start my weight cut. And when I started my weight cut, I was doing [the] bike, and like, that moment, my back was stuck, and I couldn’t move.”

Tsarukyan is 8-1 under the UFC banner and is currently sitting on a four-fight win streak with his most notable victories coming against Beneil Dariush and ‘Do Bronx.’