Chael Sonnen highlights how Arman Tsarukyan achieves UFC success despite RAF and other detours
Chael Sonnen has broken down the oft-discussed supposed distractions that UFC star Arman Tsarukyan faces.
Arman Tsarukyan has risen to become one of the most popular stars in the sport of MMA in recent years.
Nevertheless, the UFC lightweight star has also faced criticism for supposedly being distracted by too many ventures outside the realm of professional mixed martial arts competition. That particularly includes his freestyle wrestling matches in the Real American Freestyle (RAF) wrestling organization.
MMA fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen has now chimed in with his assessment of how Tsarukyan manages to find UFC success despite his myriad of other activities.
Chael Sonnen breaks down how Arman Tsarukyan finds UFC success in spite of his RAF and other activities
Arman Tsarukyan's most recent combat sports matchup witnessed him suffer a points defeat against ex-interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington in their RAF cruiserweight crossover title clash at RAF 11 back in July.
It marked his eighth match under the RAF wrestling banner this year. A number of fans and experts, as such, expressed their concerns about his wrestling foray potentially distracting him from his MMA career, what with his being one of the top UFC lightweights. Additionally, he's partaken in submission grappling under the Hype Fighting Championship banner.
Well, taking to his official YouTube channel, ex-UFC star and fellow wrestling savant Chael Sonnen suggested that Tsarukyan is one of the rare athletes who can succeed at MMA's highest level, in the UFC, whilst also competing in submission grappling as well as wrestling in RAF.
"The American Gangster" indicated that it's because Tsarukyan doesn't bring about any drastic changes in his training irrespective of whether he has a wrestling match booked. Sonnen emphasized that Tsarukyan's training is centered around doing everything in his power to become an MMA champion, specifically in the UFC organization.
Sonnen stated, "And he (Arman Tsarukyan) just explained to me, 'No matter how active I am, or how big those matches are, I don't ever miss MMA training. I do it every day, five days a week. I get three supplemental workouts in, of my choice. And I'm choosing to do one in freestyle wrestling and one in Jiu-Jitsu.'"
He added, "But I do both of them for the same reason that I compete in both of them, which is to prepare me for my fights, of which is my biggest goal."
Watch Chael Sonnen address Arman Tsarukyan's single-mindedness and UFC success below (*comments at the 3:00-minute mark of the video):
Arman Tsarukyan's upcoming MMA clash against Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 will be followed by his RAF 14 match with Dillon Danis
Arman Tsarukyan is currently en route to fighting Brazilian knockout artist Mauricio Ruffy in a deemed lightweight title eliminator, which will co-headline UFC 331 in Los Angeles on September 19. It'll mark Tsarukyan's first MMA fight since his submission win over Dan Hooker late last year.
Some foresee the Tsarukyan-Ruffy winner fighting UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje for the title early next year, whereas others have cited rumors that Gaethje is likely to defend his title in a rematch against former champion Ilia Topuria instead.
Furthermore, Tsarukyan already has his next combat sports showdown lined up, as he's booked to face Dillon Danis. The Armenian "Batman" will wrestle against Danis -- with the inaugural RAF middleweight crossover title at stake -- in the main event of RAF 14 on October 23.
