Islam Makhachev Backs Former Foe in Getting a Title Shot

December 11, 2025

Islam Makhachev has backed his former foe, Arman Tsarukyan. The two men were set to meet at UFC 311 in January, but Tsarukyan was forced to withdraw with a back injury at extremely short notice. Following the announcement of the UFC 324 main event, many have questioned why Tsarukyan didn’t get an opportunity to fight for the interim strap.

Embed from Getty ImagesDespite being ranked #1 in the division, Tsarukyan wasn’t in the running, whereas #4 and #5 have gotten the chance to set up a future fight with Ilia Topuria later in the year.

Islam Makhachev: “I think Arman should have gotten the title shot”

Speaking to RedCornerMMA, Islam Makhachev stated:
“The organization may not like it, but they make more and more fights that I don’t understand. Of course, I think Arman should have gotten the title shot. Let’s be honest, Arman is not going to fight anytime soon.

It’s Pimblett vs. Gaethje, whoever wins, he gets a shot at Topuria. Meaning one more year of layoff for Arman. It’s tough.”

Islam Makhachev has a point. Where does Tsarukyan go from here? The champion has made it clear that he’s out of action for at least the first quarter of 2026 and when he returns, he’ll likely face the winner of the UFC 324 main event.

Charles Oliveira (#2) and Max Holloway (#3) are now booked for UFC 326 with the BMF title on the line, ruling them out. Dan Hooker has just been dominated by Tsarukyan and is also matched with #8 Benoit Saint Denis.

11 years in the making pic.twitter.com/mvyxZau745

— Frazer Krohn (@frazerkrohnMMA) December 6, 2025

Even if Tsarukyan wanted to risk fighting far down the rankings, #9 Rafael Fiziev is now booked with #14 Mauricio Ruffy. Tsarukyan is the forgotten man at 155lbs.

The welterweight champion went on to say:
“Arman should probably wait a bit and be patient”

So… What is Next?

Tsarukyan’s best scenario is either Pimblett or Gaethje get a quick finish and can turn around quickly to face Topuria. Either this, or Holloway beats Oliveria and wants to fight for the BMF title at the White House against Tsarukyan. An Oliveira win does very little for Tsarukyan as he’s already beaten him at UFC 300.