Arman Tsarukyan Reveals Major Reason for Switching to Striking

Arman Tsarukyan had long been waiting for his shot at UFC lightweight gold. Following his injury woes, the Armenian fighter failed to rise up to the occasion. The closest he came was when ‘Ahalkalakets’ was scheduled to fight Islam Makhachev, a fight from which he had to withdraw. 

Now, facing Mauricio Ruffy in the UFC 331 co-main event, the stakes were higher than ever. As Tsarukyan showed his striking skills, the fighter opened up about why he needed to switch his tactics. 

Tsarukyan Goes to Striking 

Tsarukyan is known for his elite wrestling skills. Thus, most critics assumed that the Armenian star would resort to wrestling against Ruffy. Surprisingly, Tsarukyan looked offensive and stood up to his Brazilian counterpart. Following the fight, the 29-year-old explained why relying heavily on wrestling was not a good idea. 

He said, “With only wrestling, you can't win a fight. You gotta mix it up. You gotta wrestle, shoot for the takedown, if he defends, you gotta elbow him. If he defends, you wrestle. Then you put your striking in. You gotta combine everything, and you're gonna be a well-rounded fighter."

The 29-year-old also added, “This fight was pressure because every year, I'm proving I'm the number one contender. Instead of that, I could fight for the title once."

Following the victory, the UFC lightweight star has pushed for his case to clinch a title fight. 

Arman Tsarukyan Issues Stern Warning to Justin Gaethje

After defeating Ruffy within the first round, Tsarukyan stated that he was now the worthy contender for the title. However, in a recent statement, Gaethje pointed out that he will be taking the year off to recover from the injuries he suffered against Ilia Topuria. 

Such a scenario does not seem to sit well with Tsarukyan. He said, “I wanna fight for the title. If he wants to wait without a reason, he should leave the title, and we fight for the interim. For me, it doesn't matter who I'm gonna fight, but I need a title fight."

At the moment, there is no update on how things will pan out in the future.