Arman Tsarukyan gives his assessment of Movsar Evloev's UFC loss to Alexander Volkanovski

Arman Tsarukyan apparently had a conversation with former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov regarding Alexander Volkanovski vs. Movsar Evloev. 

Recalling the same, Tsarukyan put forth his assessment of the matchup, which marked the first defeat of Evloev's professional MMA career. 

Arman Tsarukyan's recent win, Movsar Evloev's UFC title quest setback

Arman Tsarukyan's latest Octagon appearance ended with his hand raised, as he knocked out Mauricio Ruffy with a vicious elbow maneuver back in September.

The Armenian-Russian Tsarukyan has since been touted as the surefire next challenger for UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje's title. The fighter and social media personality is eyeing a title shot in early 2027. 

On the contrary, Movsar Evloev's quest to become a UFC world champion hit a significant roadblock, as he experienced his first mixed martial arts loss.

The Russian fighter was stopped by way of TKO by UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski last month. The Aussie athlete put on a striking clinic against the Ingushetia-born wrestling savant. Nevertheless, Evloev has since implied that he'll recover and return. 

Arman Tsarukyan recalls talk with Khabib Nurmagomedov; felt Movsar Evloev started well with Alexander Volkanovski

Arman Tsarukyan was in attendance at the El Clásico football (soccer) match between the Spanish La Liga teams Real Madrid and FC Barcelona last month. While at the sports event in Barcelona, Spain, Tsarukyan was seated alongside retired MMA star and UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov. 

During a subsequent conversation with Adam Zubayraev, Tsarukyan was asked if he discussed MMA and football with Nurmagomedov. "The Batman" responded by suggesting that he did -- highlighting that they spoke about Movsar Evloev's recent fight. 

Addressing Evloev's loss to Volkanovski, Tsarukyan stated, "We discussed Movsar's fight... It didn't go his way. It wasn't his night. He couldn't get his game going"

Upon being asked whether Evloev looked nervous to him from the beginning, Tsarukyan indicated that he felt the Russian combatant did well in the early going and would beat Volkanovski. He said: 

"No. He was fine at the start. Everything was good. He was calm. Even when he got hit, he was trading back and landing early. At the beginning, I thought he (Movsar Evloev) was going to win the fight." 

Currently, RAF middleweight crossover champion Tsarukyan is en route to a freestyle wrestling match against ex-UFC lightweight kingpin Anthony "Showtime" Pettis. Tsarukyan will put his RAF belt at stake against Pettis at RAF 15 on November 28. 

Watch Arman Tsarukyan discuss Movsar Evloev's loss against Alexander Volkanovski below (*translation courtesy: Red Corner MMA via Adam Zubayraev): 

Arman Tsarukyan says he discussed Movsar Evloev’s fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov and recalls thinking Movsar would win after the opening exchanges. “We discussed Movsar’s fight. It just didn’t go his way. It wasn’t his night. He couldn’t get his game going. He was fine at the start. Everything was good. He was calm, even when he got hit. He was trading back and landing early. At the beginning I thought he was going to win the fight.” Via: @AdamZubayraev

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) November 7, 2026