Retired UFC veteran thinks Dana White should give Arman Tsarukyan title shot following UFC 311 pullout

By Fernando Quiles - January 23, 2025

An ex-UFC bruiser doesn’t believe Arman Tsarukyan should be punished by Dana White after his removal from the UFC 311 card.

Arman Tsarukyan Dana White

Tsarukyan was expected to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight Championship inside the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA. During the weigh-ins, White revealed on social media that Tsarukyan pulled out of the fight due to a back injury. Makhachev ended up submitting replacement opponent Renato Moicano in the first round.

White told reporters that Tsarukyan has lost his title shot, and Matt Brown doesn’t agree with that decision.

RELATED: DANIEL CORMIER BELIEVES ARMAN TSARUKYAN SHOULD BE NEXT FOR ISLAM MAKHACHEV FOLLOWING UFC 311: “IT HAS TO BE HIM!”

Matt Brown Disagrees With Dana White’s Decision to Punish Arman Tsarukyan

Speaking to co-host Damon Martin on MMA Fighting’s “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” Matt Brown explained why Arman Tsarukyan should fight Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title despite pulling out of UFC 311.

“In my opinion, either you earned a title shot or you didn’t,” Brown said. “If it was some egregious thing that he did to have to pull out of the fight I get where you punish him, but if he got legitimately injured and couldn’t fight, why should he be punished for it? If he earned it, he earned it. It’d be a different situation if he came up on a week’s notice or didn’t really earn the shot, they were kind of giving it to him for some other reason, which happens sometimes, but if he earned it, which I feel like he has, then that should be pretty set. He’s already earned it, he’s paid his due, and I think the injury was a flukish thing.”

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier recently shared his belief that Tsarukyan should be rebooked to fight Makhachev for the 155-pound gold. The general consensus is that Tsarukyan is the toughest challenger for Makhachev at this point. Time will tell if the UFC brass ultimately decides to backtrack.

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Topics:

Arman Tsarukyan Dana White Matt Brown UFC