In a sport where shaking off pain is almost a badge of honor, Arman Tsarukyan’s eleventh-hour withdrawal from UFC 311 has cost him dearly. A back injury, he says. But come on, is that it? Between the hushed chatter about commitment issues, some last-minute jitters, and whispers of a tricky weight cut, you’ve got to wonder, did the Armenian buckle under the pressure and let his first-ever title shot be? The armchair experts and cage side know-it-alls aren’t exactly rushing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Michael Bisping, a man who knows a thing or two about enduring pain in the Octagon, added some fuel to the fire during the Fight Cat YouTube show. “Arman has campaigned  for this fight for years,” the Hall of Famer pointed out. “But given Dana’s kind of short response at the presser….maybe the injury wasn’t that bad? Is that fair to say?” Oh, Bisping. You always know how to throw a spark on a dry tinder.

Paul Felder, also weighed in, stoking the flames further. He praised the UFC’s elite physical therapy team, led by Heather Linden, who’s known for patching up fighters and sending them back to war. The 40-year-old, didn’t hold back his skepticism, “She has fixed people up and gotten them in there, when it didn’t seem like they were going to. I gathered the same thing that maybe …. he could have sucked it up a little bit and went out there for such an opportunity.” That one’s bound to sting, especially coming from a fellow fighter.

On the flipside, we have Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, who sympathized with Tsarukyan. “I feel bad for him because it just reminded me of when that happened to Khabib [Nurmagomedov’. Same thing as him. So I just wish him a speedy recovery and I hope he doesn’t have to take another fight before he gets a title shot. I hope that the UFC, you know, gives him that opportunity,” he said.

‘The Eagle’ has a history of bad weight cuts, one of which had him seriously hospitalized. So he was not as critical of Tsarukyan pulling out as you would expect. Makhachev, on the other hand, threw a veiled jab with “Someone was lucky he wasn’t here” while walking backstage after his win.

Of course, ‘Ahalkalakets’ wasn’t about to let the criticism slide. Speaking to Ariel Helwani, he offered a vivid account of his condition the night before the fight. “I couldn’t sleep all night. My lower back was stuck, and I couldn’t move,” he explained, detailing his attempts to push through with painkillers and therapy that ultimately failed.

But then there’s Dana White’s reaction. A measured, almost indifferent, “He’ll have to build himself back up.” In the UFC, that’s often code for doubt. And just like that, the #1 contenders’ injury shifted from being an unfortunate mishap to the center of a heated debate.

Is Arman Tsarukyan no stranger to making headlines outside the cage?

This isn’t the first time Tsarukyan’s mental toughness has come under scrutiny. Who could forget that infamous moment when he lashed out at a crowd member during his walkout? Michael Bisping remembers. “That tells me about your ability to handle emotions in big fights,” he remarked during his pre-fight assessment of UFC 311, throwing just a little more shade on Tsarukyan’s ability to deal with the pressure.

Adding to this narrative is the Armenian’s own admission of not being “fully committed” to MMA. A statement that caught many by surprise. Bisping, naturally, seized on that as well, “That, to me, is very alarming. I don’t know if he’s just trying to dismiss Islam, if he’s being a little cocky, or if subconsciously he’s already starting to make excuses.”

So, what’s the real issue here? Is this a fighter genuinely hit by physical limitations, or is something deeper at play? Even Tsarukyan’s post-fight remarks sounded conflicted. “I wanted this fight more than anything,” he said. “Even if I lost, I’d make good money. But I couldn’t walk.”

With the set contender out, Islam Makhachev barely broke a sweat dismantling replacement Renato Moicano. It was definitely not the nail-biter that we foresaw. And as for the one who bailed? He’s now to contend with the not-so-subtle jab the reigning champ threw during his post-fight interview, daring anyone who could make weight to challenge him.

And then there’s our UFC boss’ frosty response, which might be the hardest blow of all. In the UFC, where perception can end careers faster than a knockout, Tsarukyan now faces an uphill battle to prove he has the determination to remain a top contender.

What do you think? Was the last-minute stepping away justified? Or is this a classic case of too much hesitation and not enough heart? Is he a hero who tried to battle through pain and failed, or a contender who blinked under pressure? Let us know what you think in the comments below!