Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Tsarukyan had to challenge Islam Makhachov for the UFC lightweight title at
UFC 311 on January 2025. He pulled out the night before the weigh-ins with an alleged back injury and has been out of the title picture ever since. Gaethje believes Tsarukyan was not on track to pursue a championship and used the injury as an excuse.
Gaethje suggests weight cut issues prompted Tsarukyan to pull out of his Islami Makhachov title fight
Gaethje refuses to believe Tsarukyan was forced out of the fight due to a back injury. He claims the UFC would not have treated Tsarukyan the way they did if the injury concerns were real. Gaethje believes Tsarukyan may have had a severe weight loss that nearly shut down his body.
“The truth is, he didn’t gain weight, so he was out,” Gaethje said Demetrius Johnson. “If it was his back and it was the medical report on the UFC paper, he wouldn’t be suffering like this. I’m just speculating, I don’t know, yeah. Maybe his body shut down and he just couldn’t make weight; it happens. Maybe he thought, ‘My body shuts down and I wouldn’t make weight.’ But if you made it at that weight, I’d make more.” And if someone ever did that, I could see them never getting a championship.
Dana White previously said that Tsarukyan was cleared by UFC doctors to continue the fight. Tsarukyan, however, claims that the doctor was unable to perform an MRI on his eyes to determine the extent of his injury. The top-ranked 155-pounder spoke afterward Daniel Cormier that an MRI later revealed a major back injury that would require surgery at some point.
Tsarukyan (23-3) is now on the schedule Mauricio Ruffy (14-2) at UFC 331 September 19 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
