Dominant UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is almost fully recovered from the hand injury that he sustained in his superb title showdown with Dustin Poirier earlier this year.
Yet as fans continue to speculate on when and where the talented Russian will make his return, number one contender Arman Tsarukyan has attempted to put an end to the guesswork.
Arman Tsarukyan says title rematch vs Makhachev will be official in a week
Last week, Islam Makhachev’s manager claimed that “the contracts have not been signed” for the next defense of his lightweight title, stating “We personally have not signed or received anything yet, but we are preparing for January 18.”
Luckily, Arman Tsarukyan has now revealed that he’s already been told the date/location for the lightweight title fight and that the UFC is planning to announce his title rematch with Makhachev within the next few days.
“My manager said that I’m going to fight for the title at the beginning of next year, I’m so excited,” the 22-3 Armenian told Caroline Pearce via TNT Sports.
“Hopefully after this event, they’re going to announce officially when I’m going to be fighting… But they already told me the place where I’m going to fight and the day that I’m going to fight – the UFC staff and bosses know, but I think in one week it’s going to be official.”
That interview appears to have been conducted at UFC 309, meaning that, at a push, the announcement could be made as soon as December 7 – when the promotion returns to Las Vegas for the final PPV of the year.
“Hopefully, we fight in January or February,” continued Tsarukyan, with UFC 311 scheduled for January 18 in California, and UFC 312 set for February 8 in Sydney – neither main event has been announced.
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“It was almost six years ago; I was young, and it was my first fight in the UFC,” said Tsarukyan on his first fight with Makhachev; a razor-close decision win for the current 155lbs king in 2019.
“I got good experience, and I feel like I’m better everywhere… I’ve improved my boxing and wrestling but the most important thing is experience, now I feel very good in the cage – I’m not nervous [anymore].”
Easier said than done; Tsarukyan’s plan is to beat Makhachev, then finish Oliveira
Tsarukyan remains incredibly confident that he can get that loss back against Makhachev in early 2025, and should the Armenian wrestler earn custody of the UFC title, he’ll look to make his first defense against ‘do Bronx’.
“Of course, I’m down [to fight] everybody – Charles Oliveira is one of the best in our division. I feel that Islam, Charles Oliveira and me are the top 3 of the lightweight division.
“Charles’ has beaten everybody in the Top 15, I’ve beaten everybody too and Islam is pound-for-pound [number one] so I’m down for everybody but when I am the champion, I would like to defend [against] Charles.”
Tsarukyan earned a decision win over the popular Brazilian in April 2024, with Oliveira bouncing back with a superb victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 309.
“Our [first] fight was very close, people think it was very close, and I would like to finish him.”