It seems there’s no better love story than Dana White and the last-minute pullouts of his fighters. California appears to be under a streak of bad luck, as the highly anticipated clash between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan has been canceled due to Tsarukyan suffering a back injury. Now, Makhachev will face Renato Moicano as a replacement to fill the gap. As team Dagestan now prepares for a new challenge, Khabib Nurmagomedov has come forward to give his honest opinion on Tsarukyan’s pullout.

While having a conversation with the media, the former lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, appeared calm and composed. ‘Eagle’ emphasized that injuries were a natural occurrence and anybody could have had those irrespective of the time. “Honestly, I knew this yesterday at 1 a.m., the night before I went to sleep. Honestly, this can happen to anybody. If you guys remember March 2017, it happened to me too. Then, after that, I went to the hospital, had surgery, made a comeback, and told the UFC, “If it was my mistake, give me another top guy. I’m going to beat this guy and earn my title shot.”

He further added, “It was the same thing with me, you know. I just want to wish him all the best. He’s young, he’s tough, and he can come back. He has to survive this situation and make his return.” Now that his protégé is fighting Moicano, Nurmagomedov believes the Brazilian is strong, and they will not underestimate him at any cost.

Talking about Moicano’s strength, Nurmagomedov stated, “Now, for the new main event, I think Moicano has a lot of experience—how many? Like 10 or 11 years in the UFC. He’s on a four-fight win streak, and he’s in his prime. You know, it’s a good fight. Of course, it’s not like Arman and Islam, but it’s still a very competitive fight, and we’re not going to underestimate this guy.”

In addition, Khabib Nurmagomedov took to his Instagram handle to share a post by Islam Makhachev, captioning it, “Best fighter in the world.” What did Islam Makhachev share, you may ask? Well, he shared a photo of him alongside Moicano and captioned it as, “What does this title represent? It means you are the best in the world and if you are the best in the world, it doesn’t matter who’s going to be standing across from you. What do I say? No? NEVER. Let’s do this!”

Well, UFC 311 was a highly anticipated clash that has been in the making for months now, and with Arman Tsarukyan’s sudden pullout, Dana White might not be happy with him. So, what’s next for the Armenian fighter?

Dana White to decide after Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan fiasco

According to the reports, Arman Tsarukyan injured his back whilst cutting the final pounds last night and this became worse when the fighter was in his final pound-cutting process. Ariel Helwani first broke the news as he stated, “It got worse overnight, and Arman withdrew around 7 am this morning.” Helwani further added that Renato Moicano was well aware of the incident and he was prepping up to clash against Islam Makhachev.

The UFC CEO Dana White wasted no time and he announced Moicano as his replacement, “He feels he’s not healthy enough to compete, so he’s out of the fight. Stepping in to face Islam Makhachev for the title will be Renato Moicano.” The UFC originally wanted Moicano to fight against Beneil Dariush but as the mishap happened, Dana White had to pull in the Brazilian.

Tsarukyan’s pullout may have upset the UFC CEO, and according to Ariel Helwani, Tsarukyan has not been granted an immediate rematch upon his return, “Arman has NOT been promised an immediate title shot upon his return yet.” As of now, it is uncertain how much the fighter’s bad back injury is but one thing’s for certain, and that’s the fact that Trasukyan might find it hard when he comes back. Regardless, what’s your prediction on Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano? State your thoughts in the comments below.