The UFC needs a new headliner for April 29 after Renato Moicano withdrew from his lightweight bout with Arman Tsarukyan due to injury.
Moicano (17-5-1 MMA, 9-5 UFC) is out of the UFC Fight Night 223 main event against Tsarukyan (19-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), which was scheduled to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.
MMA Junkie verified the news with two people close to the situation, who requested anonymity because the promotion hasn’t made an official announcement.
It’s unknown at this time if Tsarukyan will remain on the card against a new opponent or if the organization plans to insert a new headliner altogether.
Following the publication of this story, Tsarukyan’s manager Daniel Rubenstein, of Ruby Sports & Entertainment, expressed doubt a replacement could be found in time.
Death, taxes and nobody available to fight Arman on 2 weeks notice are the only certainties in my life right now. https://t.co/jqdOz0GlxB
— Daniel Rubenstein (@dannyrube) April 13, 2023
If he remains on the card, Tsarukyan, 26, will look to continue his momentum from a unanimous decision win over Damir Ismagulov at UFC Fight Night 216 in December. The upcoming would contest would also mark his second promotional main event. The first was a unanimous decision defeat to Mateusz Gamrot at UFC on ESPN 38 in June.
The latest UFC Fight Night 223 lineup now includes:
- Arman Tsarukyan vs. opponent TBA
- Caio Borralho vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
- Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Marcos Rogerio
- Cody Brundage vs. Rodolfo Vieira
- Ange Loosa vs. Josh Quinlan
- Emily Ducote vs. Polyana Viana
- Natan Levy vs. Pete Rodriguez
- Brian Kelleher vs. Journey Newson
- Martin Buday vs. Jake Collier
- Cody Durden vs. Charles Johnson
- Julian Erosa vs. Fernando Padilla
- Hailey Cowan vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth
- Irina Alekseeva vs. Stephanie Egger
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.
