Arman Tsaruykan is going to have to wait a little bit longer for his lightweight title shot following UFC 311 this past Saturday.
Islam Makhachev was originally set to defend his 155lb title against Arman Tsarukyan in the UFC 311 main event but Tsarukyan withdrew hours before weigh-ins due to a back injury.
That left the Russian champion to defend his title against late step-in, Renato Moicano, who was already scheduled to fight on the undercard against Beneil Dariush.
Makhachev went on to break the UFC record for the most title defenses in lightweight history with a first-round submission win over the Brazilian contender.
READ MORE: Dana White completes U-turn on Islam Makhachev vs Jon Jones pound-for-pound debate after UFC 311
Dana White reveals Arman Tsarukyan won’t get the next lightweight title shot
With the 33-year-old having now defended his 155lb title four times, his desire of winning a second belt may increase.
Following his extremely impressive first-round domination, UFC CEO, Dana White shed some light on Tsarukyan’s situation.
“No (he won’t be automatically rebooked for a title fight),” White revealed at the UFC 311 post-fight press conference.
“Yeah, he’s going back to the drawing board. I don’t want anybody to ever fight hurt, ever, you know we’ve been in these positions before, went down there with the doctor, went down there with Heather from the PI who, you can ask any fighter or anybody else, she’s the best in the world.
“You miss opportunities sometimes and he did, so we’ll see how this plays out for him next year. I have no idea (if he could’ve competed at UFC 311), only he knows that,” White continued.
Tsarukyan confused fans when he admitted that he’s not 100% committed to MMA just weeks before the biggest fight of his career.
Unfortunately for the 28-year-old despite years of working his way up to a title shot, he will now have to fight another contender to re-earn the shot he missed out on due to injury.
Arman Tsarukyan called out by Michael Chandler following UFC 311
Former UFC lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira had a similar situation when he was scheduled to take on Makhavhev at UFC 294 but withdrew a week out after suffering a cut in training.
‘Do Bronx’ went on to fight ‘Ahalkalakets’ at UFC 300 for number one contendership and subsequently lost.
With the news that Tsarukyan will need to pick up at least another win before he is considered for another title shot, he has been called out by UFC star, Michael Chandler.
‘Iron’ Mike last fought at UFC 309, losing to Oliveira after demanding a fight instead of continuing to wait for Conor McGregor’s return.
“You don’t show up, you don’t get a shot. Beat me, if you can, Arman Tsarukyan,” Chandler said on X.
Aside from that, Makhachev is quickly becoming the greatest lightweight fighter of all time and his next title defense will likely come as a rematch against the aforementioned, Oliveira.