The UFC needs a new headliner for April 29 after [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] withdrew from his lightweight bout with [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] 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.
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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.