Arman Tsarukyan reveals one Islam Makhachev record he wants to break
Arman Tsarukyan has revealed the Islam Makhachev record he wants to break as he targets UFC gold and looks to establish his own legacy in the lightweight division.
Arman Tsarukyan has shared that he has no plans to chase Islam Makhachev’s rematch but revealed one of Makhachev's records he is eyeing to break in the future.
Tsarukyan was welcomed in UFC by Makhachev back in 2019. The Armenian put up a hard fight against the Dagestani but lost via unanimous decision. Since then, the anticipation of their rematch has built up.
Arman Tsarukyan reveals he wants to surpass Islam Makhachev’s UFC record rather than chase rematch
Tsarukyan was set to fight Makhachev in the rematch at UFC 311 in the latter's fourth lightweight title defense. However, just one day before the fight. The Armenian pulled out due to a back injury. It was his first UFC title shot.
Then, Makhachev successfully defended his lightweight title against Renato Moicano. This victory etched his name in the UFC history book, making him the first lightweight champion to defend the title four times. He then went up to welterweight. He captured the title by dethroning Jack Della Maddalena and recently defended it against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330. That made his win streak 17, the longest in UFC.
After UFC 311 withdrawal, Tsarukyan was told by UFC that he needed to earn another opportunity and wouldn’t get an immediate title shot. So, he faced Dan Hooker in November and submitted him in the second round to secure victory. He is potentially just one win away from grabbing another title opportunity.
Recently, the Armenian star revealed that he wants to break the Dagestani star's record for the most title defenses in lightweight.
In Deep Waters Show, Tsarukyan explained that his current goal is to become a lightweight champion and surpass Makhachev’s record of four lightweight title defenses. And he rules out rematch chances with the pound-for-pound king for now.
“Not yet,” Tsarukyan said on the Deep Waters show. “At least five title defenses. … I want to beat the record in the lightweight division. So Islam had four defenses, so I want to make five and then we’ll see or I retire or go up to 170, because I’ve got to gain weight for 170.”
Check out Arman Tsarukyan's comments below:
To break the record of Makhachev, Tsarukyan has to earn the title opportunity, and for that, he needs to win his scheduled bout against Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331. The bout is scheduled for five rounds, and the Armenian revealed that the promotion has promised him a title shot if he emerges victorious.
Ruffy could give serious trouble to Tsarukyan, given his elite striking that knocked out Rafael Fiziev and Michael Chandler in his last two UFC outings.
Meanwhile, Tsarukyan believes otherwise and has a prediction for his fight against Ruffy.
Arman Tsarukyan predicts stoppage victory against Mauricio Ruffy
In a live stream with N3on, Tsarukyan predicts that he will stop Ruffy in the third round in the co-main event at UFC 331.
“My prediction is a stoppage,” Tsarukyan told N3on. “It’s a five-round fight, so probably a round number 3 stoppage. TKO. Elbows. Cut his face.”
Check out Arman Tsarukyan's prediction below:
