Arman Tsarukyan to serve as backup for UFC 317 lightweight title fight
Arman Tsarukyan to serve as backup for UFC 317 lightweight title fight Arman Tsarukyan will be on standby for UFC 317.
The upcoming UFC lightweight championship fight at UFC 317 now has a backup.
Arman Tsarukyan, a top contender at 155 pounds, will serve as the replacement fighter, should his services be needed, for the Charles Oliveira vs. Ilia Topuria vacant title fight. The bout is set to headline UFC 317 – this year's International Fight Week event in Las Vegas on June 28.
MMA Junkie confirmed the news following a report by MMA Fighting on Monday. The promotion has yet to make the backup role official.
Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) was scheduled to fight for the UFC lightweight title earlier this year against then champion Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 311. However, due to back issues, Tsarukyan withdrew from the fight a day prior to the event. Renato Moicano, who was scheduled to compete on the same card, ended up replacing him, and went on to get submitted by Makhachev. In the aftermath, UFC CEO Dana White said Tsarukyan wasn't going to get another title shot, despite being the No. 1 contender in the division, and needed to fight again before challenging for the belt.
Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) and Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) compete for the vacant lightweight title in response to Makhachev leaving the division in pursuit of the belt at 170 pounds. Although not official, Makhachev is expected to challenge champion Jack Della Maddalena towards the end of 2025. Topuria, who moves up a weight class himself, is coming off back to back knockouts in title fights at 145 pounds, putting away Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. On the other hand, Oliveira is 2-1 in his past three fights, beating Michael Chandler and Beneil Dariush, and dropping a split decision to Tsarukyan.
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