Gaethje accuses Tsarukyan of faking back injury to dodge UFC 311 title fight

Justin Gaethje has accused Arman Tsarukyan of fabricating a back injury to mask a failed weight cut, casting fresh doubt on the circumstances that cost the Armenian contender his only UFC lightweight title opportunity to date.

Tsarukyan was set to challenge Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 in January 2025 but withdrew the night before weigh-ins, citing a back injury. The pullout left him outside the title picture, and Gaethje — speaking to former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson — was blunt about what he believes really happened.

“The truth is, he wasn’t gonna make weight, so he dropped out,” Gaethje said. “If it was his back and it was a medical report on paper with the UFC, then he wouldn’t be suffering like this. I’m just speculating, I don’t know sh*t. Maybe his body was shutting down and he just couldn’t make weight; it happens.”

Gaethje went further, suggesting Tsarukyan may have attempted to leverage the situation financially. “Maybe he was like, ‘My body is shutting down and I’m not gonna make weight. But if you were to pay me more money, then I will push through this and I will make weight.’ And if someone ever did that, then I could see them never getting a championship fight.”

The accusation runs counter to Tsarukyan’s own account. UFC president Dana White had previously stated that UFC doctors cleared Tsarukyan to compete, but Tsarukyan pushed back, telling Daniel Cormier that a subsequent MRI revealed a significant spinal injury requiring surgery at some point in the future. He also argued that a ringside doctor could not assess the true extent of the damage without imaging.

The dispute remains unresolved, with no independent medical findings made public. What is clear is that Tsarukyan’s path back to a title shot has stalled considerably since the withdrawal.

The 23-3 contender is now booked against rising prospect Mauricio Ruffy (14-2) at UFC 331 on September 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles — a fight that carries far less prestige than the Makhachev bout he walked away from. A convincing win over Ruffy would go some way toward rebuilding his case for another shot at the lightweight throne.