Arman Tsarukyan out of UFC 311 title fight against Islam Makhachev; Renato Moicano steps in

UFC's first pay-per-view of 2025 is already being victimized by the MMA gods.

Lightweight top contender Arman Tsarukyan, one-half of Saturday's UFC 311 main event, has been forced to withdraw from his title rematch against UFC champion Islam Makhachev, UFC CEO Dana White announced Friday during official weigh-ins following initial reports by Red Corner MMA. Tsarukyan suffered a back injury late Thursday night while cutting weight and was rendered unable to compete, per White.

As a result of Tsarukyan's injury, lightweight contender Renato Moicano is stepping into the main event to challenge Makhachev for the 155-pound title on short notice. Moicano was previously scheduled to face fellow veteran contender Beneil Dariush on the pay-per-view card. Dariush will not compete at UFC 311.

The news is a brutal blow for Tsarukyan (22-3), who has won nine of his past 10 fights since dropping a competitive decision to Makhachev in his short-notice UFC debut in 2019. Tsarukyan scored wins over former champion Charles Oliveira and Dariush over the past 13 months to earn his way back into UFC 311's headlining rematch.

Makhachev (26-1) is Uncrowned's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. He is currently locked in a four-way tie with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Benson Henderson and BJ Penn for the most consecutive lightweight title defenses (3) in UFC history. With a victory on Saturday, he will set the record.

Moicano (20-5-1) now steps into the biggest opportunity of his career on just a single day's notice. The Brazilian veteran has won four consecutive bouts, including a 3-0 mark in 2024 that saw him defeat Drew Dober, Jalin Turner and Benoit Saint Denis, the latter two ending in knockouts.

As a result of Friday's late switch, the heavyweight bout between Jailton Almeida and Serghei Spivac has been elevated to complete UFC 311's five-fight pay-per-view card.

UFC 311 takes place Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.