Arman Tsarukyan Reveals How Islam Makhachev Motivated Him After Their Fight

In the lightweight division, there is no one who is more deserving of a title shot than Arman Tsarukyan. The Armenian fighter has been sitting right at the top for a long time, but given the fact that in 2025, he pulled out at the last minute from Islam Makhachev’s rematch fight, he slipped away from his title shot opportunity.

Meanwhile, ahead of his upcoming fight against Mauricio Ruffy, he has shared the conversation between him and Makhachev about their fight in 2019, where he lost to him.

Islam Makhachev Cheered Up Arman Tsarukyan After Beating Him

After the fight, Tsarukyan and Makhachev spoke to each other. The Dagestani tried to cheer the Armenian up and told him that he was still young and had a lot of time left in his career. As per Tsarukyan, he was very upset after losing because he has never liked losing, no matter how old he was.

“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… Well, sat down and covered my eyes… I never liked losing… no matter how young I was,” Tsarukyan said.

For those who don’t know, Tsarukyan at 22 made his UFC debut against Makhachev after taking the fight on short notice. It was a very close fight, with both men showing great wrestling and grappling. However, in the end, Makhachev won by decision.

After that fight, Arman has lost only once, against Mateusz Gamrot. Now, if he beats Mauricio Ruffy, he could get another chance to fight for the UFC title.

Dana White Refuses to Guarantee Arman Tsarukyan a Title Shot

Tsarukyan has been eyeing a title shot opportunity for a long time, and for that, he has worked so hard to earn it, beating fighters like Charles Oliveira, Dan Hooker, and more. And now, he is set to fight Ruffy at UFC 331, which he sees as his ticket to a title shot. But Dana White has reserved his thoughts on it and said he will wait to see the fight.

In his words, “I hate to say that until the fight is over... Arman says a lot of things. Listen, let's see how this fight plays out.”

There is no doubt there will be a lot of pressure if Tsarukyan wins and still doesn’t get a title shot. However, first he has to win a fight to create the pressure.