Arman Tsarukyan has not only questioned the resume of Islam Makhachev but says that ‘The Eagle’ is the reason why he hasn’t already had a title shot.
From fights with crowd members to surviving one of the deepest guillotines since Ortega versus Volkanovski, it was one heck of a night for Arman Tsarukyan – who is making some big claims online about the current state of the 155lb division.
Arman Tsarukyan earned the biggest win of his career at UFC 300
Arman Tsarukyan earned the single biggest win of his professional MMA career this past weekend in Las Vegas as he defeated former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira via split decision at UFC 300.
Despite his vastly superior control time from top position, Tsarukyan certainly didn’t have it all his own way, being forced to remain calm and collected as he survived not one, but two major submission attempts from the man with the most submissions in UFC history.
Speaking with Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview, the surging contender called for a long-awaited rematch with Islam Makhachev, this time, for the undisputed UFC lightweight title:
“I won and I want to fight for the title next, I’m going to be the youngest UFC champion in the 155lb division…It was five years ago on short notice, my fight with Islam Makhachev, I gave him the toughest fight and next fight, I’m going to win him just give me that opportunity and that’s it.”
Tsarukyan says he’d have already fought for title if it wasn’t for Khabib
Speaking to Sport Express, a Russian media outlet, Arman Tsarukyan noted that despite the back-and-forth messages on social media and the UFC microphone, he holds no animosity towards the current 155lb champion: “If it was something personal, we would have settled everything long ago.”
That being said, the rising contender did take the opportunity to suggest that one key reason why he hasn’t yet fought for a UFC title is because Makhachev has the primary support of the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“We must not forget who is behind Islam – and who is behind me. If Khabib had pushed me, I would have fought for the title after [Beneil] Dariush.”
‘Ahalkalakets’ went on to question the resume of Makhachev, noting that the Dagestani wrecking ball had a far easier path to UFC glory than fans remember:
“My opposition is better. Look, who did Islam beat from the top 15 to fight for the title? Bobby Green wasn’t even in the top 15. He beat [Dan] Hooker in the top 15 and [Drew Dober], he was never even in the top 10.
“The opposition that Islam had up to the waist, and which I have now gone through, are two different things,” said Tsarukyan, who improved his professional MMA record to 22-3 with the big victory at the T-Mobile Arena.
In the immediate aftermath of UFC 300, Tsarukyan was reportedly offered the title fight with Makhachev for June 1 but turned the contract down as it wasn’t enough time to fully prepare for the champ.
Tsarukyan expects Makhachev to defeat Dustin Poirier in his place
That June 1 title fight was later announced by Dana White at the post-fight press conference to be Islam Makhachev vs Dustin Poirier, with Tsarukyan expecting his former foe to defeat ‘The Diamond’ in the summer.
“My prediction is that Islam will submit him,” said the Armenian juggernaut, who also noted that fans shouldn’t be counting Poirier out just yet.
“Poirier can knock him out and Islam can choke him. It is difficult to make predictions at a very high level. Everyone thought Gaethje would knock out Holloway, but he lost.”
“Although, of course, you don’t want a person from your audience to lose. I won’t root for either one or the other, I think the chances are 60 to 40 [in favor of Makhachev].”
Following his victory at UFC 300, Arman Tsarukyan is now the #1 ranked lightweight contender in the world.