Arman Tsarukyan worked his way back to a title affair with longtime reigning UFC 155-pound champ Islam Makhachev. The two meet soon at the UFC 311 PPV (ESPN+ pay-per-view) main event in Inglewood. But that’s not where Tsarukyan began his history with the Dagestani fighter.
Arman Tsarukyan made his debut in Saint Petersburg, Russia, back in 2019. Islam Makhachev welcomed ‘Ahalkalakets’, then 22-year-old, in a hard scramble. The Armenian fighter gave Makhachev plenty of work in one of his toughest challenges but ended up losing. In a recent sitdown with Red Corner MMA, Tsarukyan talked about the happenstance just after the fight, and if he respects Islam Makhachev.
Of course I do [respect]…He supported me after the fight, he said ‘You’re still young, everything’s ahead of you. So don’t be upset.’ — And I was like ‘I’m not that young’, fell down. Sat down and covered my eyes… Yes, I never liked losing, no matter how young I was…
Arman Tsarukyan to Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
The Team ATT (American Top Team) orthodox 155lber expertly trolled the champ recently, bringing in old rival Adriano Martins for the UFC 311 Makhachev fight camp. At 26-1 MMA and 15-1 UFC, Martins marks the big blemish. However, Tsarukyan says he respects him to the end for giving him the chance. He worked his way up to become the No. 1 seed for gold over Charles Oliveira.
Makhachev won the belt at UFC 280 from “Do Bronx”. He has defended it against Alexander Volkanovski (twice) and Dustin Poirier. He’ll head into UFC 311 at the top of the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, ahead of big names such as Jon Jones and Alex Pereira. Both have dramatically improved since 2019 and Tsarukyan will always respect that part of it, despite the banter or call-ups. Team Makhachev though, is not surprised Arman made it this far.
Team AKA’s Javier Mendez unsurprised to see Arman Tsarukyan rematch for the title
Islam Makhacev runs things back with Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) at the UFC 311 PPV, January 18, from Intuit Dome. Consequently, this time, it’s for the title. Javier Mendez, leading coach at American Kickboxing Academy and Eagles MMA, had a feeling this pair would go at it sooner or later.
Improved Arman Tsarukyan no big surprise as UFC 311 challenger (Source: X)Despite the difficult assignment, Tsarukyan went at it – and took a decision. Something few fighters have managed in recent years. The P4P topper outboxed a boxer, submitted a submissions specialist, and cracked the noggin with a shin kick to head off a kickboxer. There’s just a pattern here and Arman Tsarukyan was one of the only few to survive that. Mendez liked what he saw in 2019.
I thought, ‘Man, that kid is very good, and he’s just going to get better with time as he continues fighting,’ …That’s what I thought. Now, this time around, he’s in front of us, and I knew this was going to happen because he was at a good level when he first fought Islam and was very young.
Javier Mendez to MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura in Spanish for Hablemos MMA (@HablemosMMA)
Tsarukyan is 9-1 in his past 10 UFC appearances, dating back to his April 2019 loss to champ Islam Makhachev. The challenger comes up listed as a +215 underdog. But he has proved his mettle inside the clinch as well as in range. Mendez knows it’ll be a tough fight. But despite what many say in the build-up to the rematch, he doesn’t think it’ll be the toughest of Makhachev’s reign. Come UFC 311, only one stays on top.
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