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Arman Tsarukyan appears to reveal why he withdrew from Islam Makhachev bout

Originally posted on HITC | By Jamie Theodosi | Last updated Dec 14, 2025 2:30 PM ET

Arman Tsarukyan might have revealed the real reason behind his withdrawal from the Islam Makhachev fight earlier this year.

Tsarukyan was lined up for a title shot at UFC 311 but pulled out just days before, missing what would have been a huge opportunity in his career.

He initially blamed a back injury, but there were plenty of questions about whether it was actually because he could not make weight in time.

His absence did not go unnoticed. Since then, Dana White has overlooked him in several key matchups, keeping him outside of the title picture.

The latest example came when White announced that Paddy Pimblett would face Justin Gaethje for an interim title shot. Once again, ‘Ahalkalakets’ was left out of the conversation.

Dana White hinted at a different reason for Arman Tsarukyan’s withdrawal

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Following his victory over Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar, many fans were surprised that Tsarukyan was not named in the interim title fight.

That decision only fuelled more questions about how White views the 29-year-old. The UFC president later addressed the situation, hinting that the withdrawal may not have been due to what was originally stated.

The UFC boss said to The Mac Life: “You know what I didn’t do, I didn’t cut him, we’re not sideways with him, we don’t dislike him.

“It is what it is, it’s not like I’ve confronted Arman, Arman’s a man, he knows how this played out, he knows how this all went down behind the scenes. He knows. We all f—— know… Arman knows,” White added.

Arman Tsarukyan appears to admit weight issues behind Islam Makhachev withdrawal

Just days following White’s comments, Tsarukyan appears to have confirmed that his withdrawal was indeed related to weight problems.

While speaking with his nutritionist, the lightweight joked: “CapoNutrition is bulls—, don’t work with him.”

He then added with a laugh: “CapoNutrition this time did work 100%, we didn’t miss weight like last time.”

The clip looks to have been filmed during fight week ahead of his bout with Hooker, but has only recently made the rounds on social media.

It is still possible that Tsarukyan was dealing with a back issue as well, potentially made worse by trying to make weight.

Even though he is not currently fighting in the UFC and is letting the lightweight division shake out, the Armenian star is staying busy by taking part in grappling competitions.

This week, he confirmed two upcoming matches against fellow UFC fighter Shara Magomedov and Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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