UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov empathized with lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan following his sudden pullout from UFC 311.
UFC 311 suffered a last-second loss in Arman Tsarukyan, who withdrew from the main event with Islam Makhachev due to a back injury. Just hours before he was scheduled to weigh in on Friday ahead of their lightweight title fight, Tsarukyan notified the UFC matchmakers of a lingering back injury that prohibited him from competing this weekend.
Tsarukyan will be replaced by Renato Moicano, who was supposed to face Beneil Dariush in a UFC 311 main card bout. Dariush won’t face a short-notice replacement and was removed from the event entirely.
Tsarukyan’s withdrawal comes after a long-awaited UFC lightweight title shot following four consecutive wins. He secured the title shot by defeating a former titleholder by split decision at UFC 300.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, a UFC Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest lightweight of all time, withdrew from several high-profile fights during his career. As he prepares to corner Makhachev at UFC 311, he understands what Tsarukyan is going through after the disappointing setback away from the cage.
Khabib Nurmagomedov reacts to Arman Tsarukyan’s UFC 311 pull-out
In a recent interview with the UFC‘s social media team, Nurmagomedov reacted to the last-minute changes at UFC 311.
“Honestly, I found out yesterday at 1 a.m., before I went to sleep,” Nurmagomedov said. “Honestly it can happen with anybody. In March 2017, it happened with me too. Then after that I went to the hospital, had surgery, came back and I told the UFC ‘It was my mistake, give me another guy, I’m going to beat this guy and deserve my title shot’.
“It was the same with me. I just want to wish him all the best. He’s young, tough, he can come back. He’ll have to survive this situation and come back.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov then gave his initial thoughts on Makhachev vs. Moicano.
“Moicano has a lot of experience in the UFC, 10-11 years in the UFC. Four-fight win streak, and he’s in his prime. It’s a good fight,” Nurmagomedov explained. “Of course it’s not like Arman and Islam, but it’s still very competitive, and we’re not going to underestimate him.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov reacts to the new #UFC311 main event 🗣️
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) January 18, 2025
He sends his support to Arman Tsarukyan:
“He’s young, he’s tough, he can come back.”
Khabib on Renato Moicano:
“We are not going to underestimate this guy.” pic.twitter.com/aFXrlVcggj
Moicano enters the UFC 311 headliner with plenty of momentum as he prepares to face the UFC’s pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter. He’s won four straight fights, including a brutal finish of Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC Paris in September.
Khabib Nurmagomedov was at the center of several high-profile fight cancelations during his career, most notably in several attempted bookings against Tony Ferguson. He withdrew from back-to-back bookings against Donald Cerrone due to a torn meniscus suffered in fight camp.
Khabib Nurmagomedov withdrew from several fights due to injury
After a slew of injury issues, Nurmagomedov went on to cement himself as an all-time great, a fate that Tsarukyan will look to replicate. Nurmagomedov defeated the likes of Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje during his Hall of Fame career.
As of this writing, a timeline for Tsarukyan’s next fight is uncertain, as he looks to fully recover from his back injury. Before UFC 311, he earned the title shot by defeating Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 last April.
After spending a full fight camp game-planning for Tsarukyan, Nurmagomedov supports the talented lightweight’s oncoming path to redemption after UFC 311. Time will tell if Makhachev and Tsarukyan will have their highly-anticipated rematch re-booked for a later date.