The leading UFC lightweight contender is finally giving some clear answers.
Just one day before UFC 311, Arman Tsarukyan had to pull out of his long-awaited fight against Islam Makhachev due to a back injury, and now he’s back for another shot at the title.
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The day before the fight, Charukyan withdrew from his match against then-champion Makhachev, citing back problems.
A year later, Charukian detailed his injuries, which he said kept him out of competition and derailed his championship plans.
Arman Tsarukyan reveals hernia diagnosis behind Islam Makhachev’s withdrawal from fight
Photography: Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Tsarukyan recently fueled speculation by suggesting weight issues were one of the reasons he pulled out of UFC 311.
“CapNutrition really worked 100% this time and we didn’t miss weight like we did last time,” he told his nutritionist on camera during UFC Qatar Fight Week.
But during a live broadcast from Ardin Rose, the Armenian said that an MRI showed he had a hernia.
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“So I had an MRI after the game and it showed – I don’t know how to explain it in English. I had that thing (hernia).
“So I may or may not need surgery. We’ll see. If it comes back to bother me, I’m going to have to have surgery.
“Yes (it was painful). My back was stuck and I couldn’t move. Then two or three weeks later I started moving (again),” he added.
Joe Rogan thinks Arman Tsarukyan’s exit from UFC 311 had to do with weight
Tsarukyan has opened up about the toll last year’s weight loss took on him, which provides more context for Rogan’s comments.
The lightweight contender spoke after his win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300, revealing how difficult the final days of his boxing training camp were. His efforts to lose enough weight ultimately prevented him from making the final cut.
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Rogan had a similar view, saying:
“But his back did hurt, like the day before the weigh-in. It was probably from losing a lot of weight. He lost a lot of weight. He was very muscular,” Rogan said on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
