After Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from his lightweight title shot against Islam Makhachev due to an injury just a day before fight night at UFC 311 in Inglewood this past weekend, Dana White indicated that he would no longer be next in line for the belt, but Daniel Cormier says that’s the wrong call.
“I believe it still needs to be Tsarukyan,” Cormier said on YouTube. “Because I believe that Tsarukyan, even though it’s a rematch and even though we know Charles (Oliveira) is supposed to be next, I still feel like Tsarukyan’s size, his abilities, his skillset, could present the biggest problems for Islam Makhachev.”
DC went on to suggest Tsarukyan remains the obvious choice given that there aren’t too many other contenders out there who have a chance against the dominant champion.
“Look at what he does to the rest,” Cormier said regarding Makhachev. “He has submitted or finished so many of the best lightweights in the world. Think about this: He finished Oliveira to become the champ, he finished (Alexander) Volkanovski in the rematch, he finished Dustin Poirier in his last title defense, and now he finished Renato Moicano.”
Meanwhile, Tsarukyan appears to have taken Dana White’s snub in his stride, and has indicated he’ll do whatever it takes to get back to a title shot.
“I’m not surprised [by what White said],” Tsarukyan said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “When you have a big fight and you miss your opportunity, you have to go back and fight with anybody to deserve again to be the No. 1 contender.
“Right now, I beat Charles Oliveira. He’s No. 2. I don’t know. If it makes sense, I’ll fight with anybody.”
