Tsarukyan hast lost his opportunity to rematch champion Islam Makhachev following his late-notice withdrawal from the main event of UFC 311 at Intuit Dome. The news was revealed by UFC CEO Dana White on Saturday night at the post-fight press conference.

The ride to UFC 311 had some last-minute bumps in the road when would-be lightweight title challenger Arman Tsarukyan suffered a back injury Friday that forced his withdrawal from a main event rematch with champion Islam Makhachev, resulting in a Renato Moicano detour on a day's notice.

UFC CEO Dana White says #1 contender Arman Tsarukyan will have to fight his way back to the title picture against Islam Makhachev.

LOS ANGELES – UFC 311 took an unexpected major turn Friday morning, with Arman Tsarukyan withdrawing from his lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev. A new UFC 311 main event is now set as Renato Moicano will step in to challenge Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) for the belt.

Arman Tsarukyan will not fight for the lightweight title the next time fight fans see him compete after the No. 1 contender’s eleventh-hour withdrawal from UFC 311, according to Dana White.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has given his thoughts on Arman Tsarukyan being replaced by Renato Moicano to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 311

MMA Junkie was on scene and reporting live from Friday's official UFC 311 fighter weigh-ins. The early weigh-ins took place at the UFC host hotel in Los Angeles and preceded the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans,

As a result of Tsarukyan's dropout, lightweight contender Renato Moicano is stepping into the main 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.

Arman Tsarukyan has been forced to withdraw from his UFC 311 main event lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev due to injury, with Renato Moicano stepping in as a late replacement