Justin Gaethje Shares Theory on Botched UFC 311 Main Event

UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje shared his theory on why the UFC 311 main event lightweight title bout didn’t happen.

That night, former UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev was supposed to fight Arman Tsarukyan in a rematch in the headliner of that pay-per-view card. But Tsarukyan pulled out the day before the weigh-ins and was replaced by Renato Moicano, who ended up getting easily submitted by Makhachev.

Tsarukyan reportedly withdrew from the fight due to back pain, but Gaethje believes that was just a convenient excuse, as he thinks he pulled out because he wasn’t going to make weight.

Justin Gaethje Shares Theory on UFC 311

Speaking on the “Mighty” podcast with UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson, Gaethje shared his theory on why Tsarukyan really pulled out of UFC 311.

“The truth is that he wasn’t going to make weight, so he dropped out. Of course, that’s true. Of course,” Gaethje said. “If it was his back, and there was a medical report from the UFC then he wouldn’t be suffering like this. But I’m just speculating. I’m totally speculating. There is no way that he truly hurt his back cutting weight. How the (expletive) do you do that? For one, maybe his body was shutting down and couldn’t make the weight, which happens,” (via MMAjunkie.com).

Justin Gaethje Doesn’t Feel Bad for Arman Tsarukyan

While some fans feel bad for Tsarukyan because he has been waiting several years for a title shot without getting one, Gaethje doesn’t feel bad for his rival at all.

“He’s also been doing so much to not fight for the title. Come on, we all make our own bed. He was going to fight Islam Makhachev for the belt, and he dropped out the night before,” Gaethje said.

Mauricio Ruffy recently said that the UFC told him that his fight against Tsarukyan at UFC 331 would be a title eliminator for the 155 lbs belt that Gaethje currently holds, but UFC president Dana White has pulled back on that, so Tsarukyan may be going to have to wait even longer to get his chance to fight for the title.

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