Poirier defeated Chandler via rear naked choke in their meeting at UFC 281 before being knocked out in a rematch with Justin Gaethje the following year, but “The Diamond” rebounded by stopping surging contender Benoit Saint-Denis to earn his third crack at undisputed UFC gold.

Despite Arman Tsarukyan pulling out of UFC 311, Daniel Cormier still believes the rising lightweight deserves a fight with Islam Makhachev.

Dana White is no fan of last-minute withdrawals, and his decision to withhold an immediate title shot for Arman Tsarukyan has drawn Daniel Cormier's attention.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev share a common UFC opponent. UFC lightweight champion Makhachev's most recent title defense came in a fifth-round submission of Dustin Poirier at UFC 302. Nurmagomedov also holds a victory over Poirier,

Daniel Cormier says Arman Tsarukyan is still the most deserving contender to get a shot at Islam Makhachev regardless of him dropping out of UFC 311 due to injury

Standing out in the UFC's lightweight division is a tall order. It's the sport's deepest and most star-studded talent pool. Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway are among the high-profile fighters who have fought in the division and for the title in the last seven years.

Lopes is the number three-ranked featherweight in the world, but has only made one appearance up the weights in short notice catchweight bout against Dan Ige. Meanwhile Poirier was the last man to challenge Makhachev at UFC 301 last summer, losing by submission in the fifth round.

An injured Arman Tsarukyan has been replaced in the main event of UFC 311, with Renato Moicano now challenging Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title – on one day’s notice.

As far as a possible trilogy with Arman Tsarukyan is concerned, you can count Islam Makhachev out. Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) will put his lightweight championship on the line in a rematch with Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA,

Arman Tsarukyan is pulling out all the stops to win his rematch with UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

UFC 311 continues with the UFC lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan. Check out our UFC odds series for our Makhachev-Tsarukyan prediction.

Khabib Nurmagomedov has given his thoughts on Arman Tsarukyan being replaced by Renato Moicano to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 311