Should any last minute incidents befall this month’s UFC 317 event in Las Vegas, the UFC have a backup plan in place.

Arman Tsarukyan, the former number one contender at lightweight who in January withdrew at the eleventh hour from a scheduled title bout against then-champ Islam Makhachev, will be on hand in Sin City on June 28 for the clash between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira to determine a new 155-pound champion following Makhachev’s decision to vacate his throne ahead of a bid at becoming the latest member of the UFC’s two-division champion club.

Arman Tsarukyan, long considered one of the lightweight fold’s standout fighters, will weigh-in at the event and take to the cage if either Topuria or Oliveira are unable to make the walk — as Tsarukyan himself noted on social media, and as was confirmed by numerous reports.

The move will likely get Tsarukyan back into the UFC’s good graces, after the organisation said that he would likely have to win at least one more fight to return to title contention after his late withdrawal against Makhachev earlier this year.

Backup fighters are traditionally looked upon favourably by UFC brass in future matchmaking situations. Tsarukyan already holds a win over Oliveira from his most recent bout in April of last year at UFC 300.

The UFC 317 main event pits Oliveira against the former featherweight champion Topuria, after the Georgian-Spanish fighter opted to relinquish his 145-pound title and move to lightweight. At the same time, the former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is slated to take on Jack Della Maddalena later this year for the UFC welterweight title currently held by the Australian.