Top ranked lightweight contender  Arman Tsarukyan found himself on the outside looking in after he was forced to pull out of the UFC 311 main event title bout with  Islam Makhachev the day before the event. In November, current lightweight champion  Ilia Topuria announced that he was going to  step away from competition while dealing with personal issue. The fight promotion opted to crown an interim champion in Topuria’s absence and Tsarukyan was left out.  Former interim lightweight titleholder  Justin Gaethje and No.