UFC 311 took an unexpected major turn Friday morning, with Arman Tsarukyan withdrawing from his lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev. A new UFC 311 main event is now set as Renato Moicano will step in to challenge Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) for the belt.

Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) defends his lightweight title in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in Saturday’s main event (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+) at Intuit Dome.

Makhachev, 33, takes a 26-1 record into the fight that includes a division-record 14-match winning streak. He claimed his first championship Oct. 22, 2022, in a second-round submission of Charles Oliveira. Makhachev since twice defended his title against Alexander Volkanovski and once against Dustin Poirier.

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.

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.

Dana White confirms Arman Tsarukyan's withdrawal due to a back injury; Islam Makhachev now faces Renato Moicano at UFC 311.

UFC 311 has taken a massive hit. While preparing for his rematch and title shot against Islam Makhachev (26-1), Arman Tsarukyan (22-3)

As a result of Tsarukyan's dropout, lightweight contender Renato Moicano is stepping into the main to challenge Makhachev for the 155-pound title on short notice. Moicano was previously scheduled to face fellow veteran contender Beneil Dariush on the pay-per-view card.

UFC 311 takes place tonight from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights!

It's on regular TNT Sports in the U.K., for example. That's worth knowing if you're a British citizen away from home, because you can use a VPN to watch UFC 311 on TNT Sports as usual. We'd recommend NordVPN. Away from home this weekend and want to watch UFC 311 on your usual subscription service?

Here are your options to watch UFC 311, including the TV channel for the prelims and pay-per-view options for the main card on Saturday in California.