Arman Tsarukyan out of UFC 311 main event vs. Islam Makhachev

UFC 311 has lost one of its headliners.

During Friday’s official weigh-ins, UFC CEO Dana White revealed on Instagram that Tsarukyan was pulled from his lightweight championship rematch with Islam Makhachev at Saturday’s pay-per-view at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., due to a back injury.

Tsarukyan’s hopes of avenging his first UFC debut loss to Makhachev will have to wait as Makhachev won a decision in their inaugural meeting in 2019. Since then, Tsarukyan has risen through the ranks of the lightweight division and earned his first championship opportunity following a decision win over the former titleholder Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 last April.

Makhachev now faces Renato Moicano in the brand new main event. Moicano was scheduled to face Beneil Dariush in a lightweight bout on the main card, but with Tsarukyan’s injury, “Money” will get his first opportunity to fight for UFC gold on Saturday.