The highly anticipated fight between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan has been canceled after Tsarukyan withdrew due to a back injury.

Coach Javier Mendez called Poirier Makhachev’s toughest fight to date. Nurmagomedov thinks Makhachev can only grow from a back-and-forth battle such as that, which was a nominee for the 2024 Fight of the Year.

Islam Makhachev’s manager has revealed the ‘UFC plan’ for his star client’s next fight. The lightweight champion was originally booked to defend his belt against Arman Tsarukyan before the Armenian withdrew from his first UFC title fight on Friday after suffering a back injury.

Islam Makhachev’s D’Arce choke is becoming a signature move after it netted him Submission of the Month honors again in January.

Lopes is the number three-ranked featherweight in the world, but has only made one appearance up the weights in short notice catchweight bout against Dan Ige. Meanwhile Poirier was the last man to challenge Makhachev at UFC 301 last summer, losing by submission in the fifth round.

Makhachev was set to defend his title in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan, while Moicano was to face Beneil Dariush. However, everything changed at the official morning weigh-ins when Tsarukyan withdrew from his title opportunity due to a back injury.

Current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev was set to face Arman Tsarukyan ... of the high-level competitors in the lightweight division, including Moicano, Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanosvki (twice), Charles Oliveira, Dan Hooker, and more.

McGregor has been linked to several fights since a gruesome leg injury halted his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier. Most notably, McGregor was scheduled to finally fight Michael Chandler after the pair coached TUF 31 against each other in the spring of 2023.

Dustin Poirier is expected to return in 2025 for what is being labeled as his ‘last dance’. The opponent and the date remain to be undisclosed for now but the former UFC interim champion took the time to reveal how he’s not fighting in Miami as rumored.

Could Michael Chandler and Paddy Pimblett be on a collision course? Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) addressed the possibility of facing popular rising lightweight Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) next – a matchup "The Baddy" previously teased.

Following his UFC 311 title defense, Islam Makhachev has surprisingly highlighted Justin Gaethje as his potential next challenge as he looks for a July return.