UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan literally kicked one of his coaches out of the cage in a scary accident.
Arman Tsarukyan appears to be back in the UFC’s good graces after a short-notice withdrawal from UFC 311 in January. After pulling out of the UFC 311 main event with a back injury, Tsarukyan was the backup fighter at UFC 317, and may serve the same role at UFC 318.
Tsarukyan will likely have to win at least one more fight before earning another title shot. Potential matchups with the likes of Paddy Pimblett, Dan Hooker, and Justin Gaethje are in the mix for Tsarukyan’s next fight.
But disaster nearly struck in Tsarukyan’s training camp during a routine pad session.
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Arman Tsarukyan sends coach flying out of the cage in wild training accident
Tsarukyan and one of his coaches were getting some work in as the top lightweight prepares for his return to the Octagon. Things were routine at first as Tsarukyan threw several different techniques as his coach held pads.
But a big problem surfaced, as Tsarukyan and his coach forgot to lock the cage door closed before they kicked off their session. After Tsarukyan landed a kick to his coach’s mid-section, his coach went flying through the unlocked cage door, landing flat on his back on the ground below.
Tsarukyan shared footage of the incident in a recent Instagram post, along with a humorous caption.
“Can somebody please keep the cage closed,” Tsarukyan commented.
Luckily, it appears that Tsarukyan’s coach wasn’t seriously injured in the accident. Had he not been wearing protective padding while working with Tsarukyan, it could’ve been a worse incident.
Tsarukyan has been working alongside UFC middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev and others in California ahead of their returns to the cage. Chimaev will return to the Octagon next month at UFC 319 to challenge UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis in Chicago.
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Tensions are building between Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria
In the meantime, Tsarukyan has bad blood brewing with UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, as the two have exchanged barbs online in recent days. After Tsarukyan promised to ‘maul’ Topuria in a potential fight, Topuria called Tsarukyan a ‘total jerk’ and mocked the contender for his recent performances.
Tsarukyan hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300. He’s won four consecutive fights since a controversial loss to Mateusz Gamrot in June 2022.
Topuria faced off with Pimblett after his knockout win over Oliveira at UFC 317, pointing to a potential clash between the two longtime rivals. But Tsarukyan and Gaethje also make strong cases for the next title shot.
As of this writing, it’s uncertain how the UFC matchmakers will book Tsarukyan for his next appearance. But amid building tensions between Tsarukyan and Topuria, the UFC has their hands full in matchmaking the lightweight division.