Arman
Tsarukyan is excited to have his idol Khabib
Nurmagomedov in the opposite corner at UFC
311.
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Tsarukyan challenges Nurmagomedov’s teammate, Islam
Makhachev, for the lightweight title in the main event at UFC
311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.
“Ahalkalkets” previously suffered a hard-fought unanimous decision
loss against Makhachev in his UFC debut back in 2019.
While Nurmagomedov was in attendance for the fight, he wasn’t
cornering Makhachev back then. However, the lightweight GOAT
contender will be in Makhachev’s corner for his upcoming defense
against Tsarukyan at UFC 311. “The Eagle” will also be cornering
his cousin Umar
Nurmagomedov, who challenges Merab
Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title in the co-main event of
the night.
Tsarukyan was recently asked to choose between Nurmagomedov and
Makhachev with both being at their peak. Having grown up being
inspired by Nurmagomedov, Tsarukyan prefers “The Eagle” — not only
as a fighter but also as a human being.
“Khabib for me is different, different level of fighter,” Tsarukyan
told Ariel Helwani. “Not just like a fighter, like a man. So I like
Khabib more than Islam. Because when I was young, I watched all
Khabib’s fights. And for me he is a GOAT in our division.”
Despite Nurmagomedov being Tsarukyan’s idol, the 28-year-old claims
he’ll be even more energized to have the former champ in the
opposite corner. For Tsarukyan, a potential win over Makhachev will
be like a win over Team Khabib.
“It’s gonna get me more energy,” Tsarukyan said. “Because it’s kind
of, if I beat Islam, it’s like kind of beat Khabib’s team you
know.”
Tsarukyan is riding a four-fight winning streak, topped off by a
split-decision win over Charles
Oliveira at UFC 300 this past April. Meanwhile, Makhachev has
won 14 consecutive outings — including four title wins — since
suffering his lone career loss against Adriano
Martins in his UFC debut back in 2015.