A Week Before UFC 302, Dana White Faces a Setback for Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier Fight

The saga of the lightweight division is probably one of the most looked forward to in the entire promotion and Dana White is at the helm of it. Dustin Poirier and Islam Makhachev are about to clash for the lightweight gold as the Dagestani is about to defend his belt thrice in a row. Amid the hubbub, Arman Tsarukyan, who is riding a decision victory against the number one contender Charles Oliveira was supposed to be the backup fighter for the fight. But now it seems unlikely.

UFC 302 would witness a new challenge for Islam Makhachev. Why, what’s different this time? Well, this time Makhachev will be fighting against a true lightweight, unlike the last two fights. Nonetheless, ahead of their fight let’s have a look at what happened to Tsarukyan which might have hindered Dana White’s plan.

Dana White’s plan for Arman Tsarukyan seems to have fallen down

Well, if we look at the statistics then Arman Tsarukyan is the number one contender for the lightweight belt. The Armenian defeated Charles Oliveira in an action-packed match in UFC 300 and thus clinched the number one contender title from the Brazilian. Tsarukyan might have won the fight in the grand night but something peculiar happened that night which had its effect on Tsarukyan now.

When the Armenian was walking out from his dressing room to the Octagon. A fan in the stands seems to have misbehaved with the fighter and what followed was a reaction from Tsarukyan as he slapped the fan and moved forward. Well, a classic example of ‘F*ck around and find out.’ Nonetheless, after the hubbub, the NSAC had decided to withhold $31,600, 20% of Tsarukyan’s estimated $158,000 fight purse.

However, his problems didn’t end here as reports suggest that Arman Tsarukyan was supposed to be the backup fighter for Dana White’s action-packed UFC 302 fight between Dustin Poirier and Islam Makhachev but seems like this won’t happen as Tsarukyan is unable to be the backup fighter for UFC 302 main event due to a suspension he is currently facing for punching a fan during his walkout at UFC 300.

Well, it must be noted that Dana White initially offered Tsarukyan to fight against Makhachev at the UFC 302 event but his team denied considering a well-earned rest period and now we have new info that he was suspended for his mischief back in UFC 300. Nonetheless, Tsarukyan will be facing the champion sooner or later. Interestingly, Tsarukyan also seems to have shared his two cents with Makhachev.

Arman Tsarukyan gives a word of advice for Islam Makhachev

Arman Tsarukyan faced Islam Makhachev when he debuted in the promotion. Despite giving a good fight Tsarukyan lost the fight by way of a unanimous decision. Nonetheless, there’s a high probability that the Armenian would be meeting the Dagestani again if Makhachev secured a victory against Dustin Poirier who seemed to be wanting to make this fight his last.

Amid the hubbub, Tsarukyan has come forward to give a piece of advice to the champion. “I see Islam is going to try and push him to the cage, to take him down and try to hold him, submit him. But if he can’t do that, it’s going to be dangerous. If he wants to box him, I think Dustin Poirier on a different level. His punch, his speed, he can knock him out very fast. That’s why Islam’s got to try to take him down right away. For me, the favorite is Islam on this fight, but like I can put money on Dustin Poirier KO, because it could happen,” said Tsarukyan.

Dana White has promised the next title fight for Tsarukyan but who will he fight against will be decided at the UFC 302. Nonetheless, who do you think would be Tsarukyan’s opponent? State your thoughts in the comments below.