The UFC 311 main event was supposed to be Arman Tsarukyan‘s moment. A long-awaited rematch with Islam Makhachev and a shot at the lightweight belt. But then, just a day before the event, Tsarukyan was out, reportedly due to a back injury. That’s what most fans believed, until Dana White hinted otherwise at the UFC 317 post-fight press conference.

According to the UFC boss, “[Tsarukyan] had the opportunity to fight for the title and didn’t make weight.” That one line flipped the story. Suddenly, fans questioned Arman Tsarukyan’s professionalism. Had he blown the biggest opportunity of his life? Turns out, the real story was never about the scale.

Speaking to Daniel Cormier on an episode of his Check-In show on YouTube, the Armenian lightweight finally had the chance to respond, and he didn’t hold back. Tsarukyan stated, “No, I have never ever like issue with my weight. And to make the weight is not a hard deal for me.”

For him, the idea that he missed weight before the most important fight of his career was not just wrong, it was absurd. He continued, “Especially, how you can miss the weight if you’ve been waiting for that fight like 6 years. And like I knew about that fight before 4 months. Like you can bring your body, like till that day where you’re good and it’s not 4 weeks or 2 weeks you to go jump in on a diet and do a lot of cardio”

The first clash between Makhachev and Tsarukyan took place back in 2019, where he lost a unanimous decision. As such, he further shared that he was in fact “3 lbs” lighter than his previous fights in preparation for his long-awaited redemption against the Dagestani juggernaut.

Cormier, who had also mistakenly repeated the “missed weight” claim during the UFC 317 weigh-in show, admitted he was wrong as Tsarukyan was the backup for the main event and made weight comfortably. But he asked Tsarukyan what went through his mind as he further inquired, “Obviously, I have a big voice in MMA. Obviously, Dana is the voice in MMA. When you hear that, what do you think?”

The no.2 ranked lightweight then confessed, “I met the doctors, because they supposed to tell to Dana what really happened or check my… they check my back and send me to do MRI or something and make the right decision, you know.”

That injury, not a weight cut failure, led to his withdrawal. But somehow, the truth got lost in translation as he further pointed out, “And Dana like until nowadays, they think I have a issue with my weight cut, but never and I’m professional..” and that his entire team can attest to his discipline as there was no chance he was going to miss weight for what he called, “the biggest fight of my life.”

But not only did the injury derail his title shot, but now his integrity was being questioned by the UFC boss himself. Dana White’s comment, whether accidental or not, sent ripples across the MMA world. But Arman Tsarukyan, with help from Daniel Cormier, is setting the record straight. The scale wasn’t the problem. His back was.

However, while he may have missed out on a shot at gold at UFC 311, ‘Akhalkalakets’ is now aiming his cross-hairs at the newly crowned king of the lightweights, and he’s determined to prove a point!

Arman Tsarukyan fires a salvo at Ilia Topuria after getting snubbed for Paddy Pimblett

Ilia Topuria‘s knockout win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 shook the division. But one man in the crowd wasn’t impressed, Arman Tsarukyan. As the backup for the main event, Tsarukyan had hoped to be next in line. Instead, Topuria called for a face-off with Paddy Pimblett, bypassing the seemingly tougher challenges altogether. Yet, the sparks didn’t end there.

In a post-fight interview with ESPN Deportes, ‘El Matador’ claimed, “He looked scared. He had a look of shock on his face when he saw the knockout. He was like, ‘I was going to be the replacement for this fight, thank God nothing happened to Charles because this could have been me.’” Topuria then stated that Tsarukyan made weight this time because he knew he wasn’t going to step into the Octagon that night and took a jab at his back problems, too.

Tsraukyan’s response? He wasn’t pleased at all as he fired back on X, writing, “Running from the real contender only proves one thing – you’re scared. Deep down, you know exactly what happens if you ever step in there with me.”

While UFC boss Dana White has indicated that Tsarukyan took a “good step in the right direction” by making weight as a backup, he did remain firm on his stance that Tsarukyan is not in line for a title shot next in a conversation with Helen Yee. To wrap things up, Arman Tsarukyan’s road to the title may be filled with obstacles, but he’s refusing to let anyone rewrite his story. From correcting White’s claim about missing weight to clapping back at Ilia Topuria’s taunts, ‘Akhalkalakets’ is making one thing clear: he’s not just showing up for headlines, he’s showing up for the belt!