Arman Tsarukyan is out of the biggest fight of his life at the very last minute. The Armenian, of course, was set to face Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 for the latter’s 155lbs gold. But alas, barely a day away from their main event clash this Saturday, he was forced to pull out. While Tsarukyan’s team claimed that it was because of a back injury, some suspected a failed weight cut was the real reason for the last-minute change of plans.

But his coach, Marcos DaMatta narrated the exact sequence of events that led to his withdrawal from the card. And the story began last week. “Last Tuesday he [Arman] had the last sparring session and he tweaked his back a little bit, it was not too bad, you know. And we thought it is the end of the camp, the body’s feeling it,” the coach told ‘MMA Junkie’ in a recent interview. This led to the team deciding that Tsarukyan should take a few days off to recover.

But when he returned to camp this week, “Everything was going great.” However, it was clear that the challenger was still in pain, but he put on a brave face and tried “powering through it.” Tsarukyan was determined to continue. “He never thought about not fighting, never. He did so much for this camp, he brought so many people to help… He was never in his mind thinking about [pulling out],” DaMatta added.

So far so good. After all, rarely do fighters go into the Octagon a hundred percent. Niggles and minor injuries are as much a part of the game as anything else. And Tsarukyan and his team still felt that the Armenian would indeed make it to the fight. However, what happened next ended all prospects of that happening.

The last straw that (figuratively) broke Arman Tsarukyan’s back

However, things took a turn for the worse three days out from the event. “But then Wednesday night, after the last training, he was really complaining a little more and this guy doesn’t complain. He’s not a guy that keeps complaining about every single thing, he never does,” the coach said. The weigh cut, however, was still going pretty well. But it seemed to have worsened Tsarukyan’s back issues, which came back with a vengeance.

And then everything went horribly wrong the next day. “Thursday we went to the press conference, and after the press conference, he had to go to see a doctor, and still wanted to fight, to power through it. We started the weight cut, and then a few sessions in on the weight cut, he couldn’t do it anymore,” DaMatta revealed.

Tsarukyan’s situation became so alarming that his team called in UFC matchmaker Hunter Campbell and the UFC’s medical team to take a look at the challenger. But the writing was on the wall by that time since he was in so much pain that he literally couldn’t move.

“And then, you know, unfortunately, he made the decision that it was wise not to fight because he couldn’t even stand, he couldn’t even sit up, you know. He had to be staying laying on the bed,” the coach concluded. At the moment, however, even Tsarukyan’s coach couldn’t say what injury exactly the contender has suffered from.

Hopefully, things will become clear once Tsarukyan undergoes proper medical examinations. Thankfully, #10 ranked lightweight, Renato Moicano stepped in to save the card at the eleventh hour. But one cannot help but feel for Tsarukyan for the missed opportunity. What do you think about Tsarukyan’s coach’s revelations about his injury?