Arman
Tsarukyan once viewed fighting in the
UFC as an unattainable dream.
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Fast forward to the present day, and he’s less than a month away
from challenging for championship gold in the world’s largest mixed
martial arts promotion, when he locks horns with Islam
Makhachev in the UFC 311
main event on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Competing in the Octagon became a reality shortly after Tsarukyan’s
last fight on the regional circuit in Russia in August 2018.
Sharing a card with the likes of 2024
PFL heavyweight champ Denis
Goltsov, UFC veteran Alexander
Romanov and ex-Bellator
MMA light heavyweight title holder Christian
M’Pumbu, Tsarukyan won his 11th straight bout that night —
defeating one-time UFC competitor Felipe Olivieiri via third-round
knockout.
After that bout, Tsarukyan recalls his manager telling him that he
would be in the UFC soon. About eight months later, he was booked
in his short-notice Octagon debut against Makhachev.
“I was super excited because I was super young — 22 years old — and
I wanted to win that fight so much,” Tsarukyan recently told ESPN.
“This is the biggest dream in my life. When I was young, UFC was
super big for me. I thought it was impossible to get there. When I
got there and I started to fight, I understood I was a guy who can
be a champ here.”
In 2019, Makhachev was an intriuging lightweight talent who had won
five of his six UFC appearances, but it was not yet apparent the
heights he would reach. Still, the Dagestani was a difficult
matchup for someone making his short-notice UFC debut.
“I knew him very well because he’s Khabib [Nurmagomedov’s] cousin
and he had five or six fights in the UFC. All of us watched his
fights and Khabib’s fights,” Tsarukyan recalled. “…. I was more
excited because everybody in Russia knows him. [I remember
thinking] ‘it’s a good fight for me. When I beat him, people are
going to talk about me.’
“I’m always confident in myself. I thought 100% I was going to win.
I’m a good wrestler, I’m a good striker, but I didn’t have good
experience at that moment. I didn’t have enough time to get ready
for the fight. I got about three weeks before the fight. It’s not
excuses. I should be better for that fight.”
Tsarukyan was certainly competitive in their clash, but he
ultimately dropped a unanimous decision to Makhachev at UFC Fight
Night 149. It wasn’t a controversial decision bu any means, but the
performance was useful for Tsarukyan in that it helped eliminate
any type of mystique that Makhachev might have otherwise had. While
some might look at the reigning UFC lightweight champion and see a
virtually unstoppable force on a 14-fight winning streak, Tsarukyan
sees vulnerability.
“He’s not as good as people think,” Tsarukyan said. “People think
he is unbeatable and crazy wrestler, but I took him down when I was
22 years old.”
While that sounds like it might be disrespectful, it speaks more
about the self confidence that Tsarukyan possesses, because he’s
more than willing to give Makhachev his due respect.
“He is the best in our division,” Tsarukyan said. “I think [it’s] just me who can beat him right now. This is the best [scenario] that Islam is champ.”
However, Tsarukyan might have an ally in UFC CEO Dana White when it
comes to the ongoing pound-for-pound debate.
“My opinion he [Makhachev] is No. 2 in pound for pound, because
Jon
Jones is No. 1 for me,” Tsarukyan said. “But for sure in 155,
he is [the best].”
If Tsarukyan wins at UFC 311 as he expects, he will insert himself
into the midst of all pound-for-pound discussions. That, however,
isn’t a primary motivator for the 28-year-old contender.
“I don’t care about it. I just care about the title,” he said. “No
money, nothing. No hype, followers. Just title. This is what I want
to get. I wake up [thinking] about [the] title. I go to sleep
thinking about [the] title.”