Daniel Cormier disagrees with Dana White after UFC 311

Daniel Cormier would like to see Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan rebooked after UFC 311.

Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) withdrew from his title fight against lightweight champion Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) last Friday due to a back injury. Makhachev wound up fighting Renato Moicano instead, submitting him in Round 1 of Saturday’s main event at Intuit Dome.

Post fight, UFC CEO Dana White said Tsarukyan will now have to go back to the drawing board after losing out on his title opportunity, but Cormier disagrees.

“I believe it still needs to be Tsarukyan,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Because I believe that Tsarukyan, even though it’s a rematch and even though we know Charles (Oliveira) is supposed to be next, I still feel like Tsarukyan’s size, his abilities, his skillset, could present the biggest problems for Islam Makhachev.”

Tsarukyan earned his title opportunity after edging out Charles Oliveira at UFC 300. Oliveira has since rebounded with a win over Michael Chandler at UFC 309 but was submitted by Makhachev not too long ago in their title fight at UFC 280.

Looking at the landscape at 155 pounds, Cormier doesn’t see too many options for Makhachev.

“Look at what he does to the rest,” Cormier said of Makhachev. “He has submitted or finished so many of the best lightweights in the world. Think about this: He finished Oliveira to become the champ, he finished (Alexander) Volkanovski in the rematch, he finished Dustin Poirier in his last title defense, and now he finished Renato Moicano.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.