Arman Tsarukyan appears to have no interest in sitting around waiting for his UFC title shot.

Despite being the official backup fighter for the UFC White House main event between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, the Armenian contender has now booked another wrestling bout, bringing his upcoming schedule to an almost absurd three appearances in just over a month. To make it sound even more bizarre, he booked his 7th wrestling bout in the RAF and 8th outing overall in 2026.

‘Ahalkalakets’ will now go one-on-one against Kuat Khamitov on July 11 at RAF Georgia. The matchup adds to an already packed summer, which already features a showdown with Tony Ferguson at RAF 10 on June 13 and a highly anticipated grudge match versus Colby Covington at RAF 11 on July 18.

What’s especially surprising is the timing. Arman Tsarukyan isn’t just another UFC fighter who keeps himself busy in between fights. He is now positioned as the next in line for a lightweight title shot and has been formally named as the backup fighter for the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.

If either ‘El Matador’ or Gaethje withdraws, the UFC may call on him to compete in one of the year’s biggest fights. That’s why many expected the Armenian to keep his schedule clear. Instead, he has done the exact opposite.

The 29-year-old is set to wrestle Tony Ferguson less than 24 hours before the White House card. Then, if nothing materializes from the title picture, he’ll return to RAF Georgia to face Khamitov before turning around one week later to settle his long-running grudge with Covington.

To be fair, ‘Ahalkalakets’ has already explained how the backup situation works. According to him, the UFC never told him to weigh in ahead of time, as a regular reserve fighter would.

He also stated that he would require approximately one week’s notice to safely reach the lightweight limit. If a withdrawal happens just days before the event, a title fight replacement would likely become impossible.

Nonetheless, it’s an impressive level of activity for someone so close to competing for UFC gold. Most top contenders wait months for a championship opportunity. Arman Tsarukyan has instead become one of combat sports’ busiest athletes, competing regularly while the lightweight division sorts itself out.

Perhaps that is why his popularity continues to rise, and fans just want to see him fight in the UFC. In fact, when he randomly threw a name such as Charles Oliveira as one of his possible next fights, fans simply got hooked on the idea. But was it actually a real possibility shared by the Armenian? Well, not exactly.

Arman Tsarukyan opens up on rumors of a possible fight against Charles Oliveira

That constant activity is exactly why every comment Arman Tsarukyan makes gets amplified almost instantly. Over the weekend, one casual statement persuaded a huge chunk of the MMA community that he had already booked his UFC return against Charles Oliveira. The rumor spread so quickly that many fans were discussing the matchup as if contracts had already been signed.

The misunderstanding arose from a YouTube video in which Arman Tsarukyan said that he may fight in September and briefly named Charles Oliveira as a possible opponent. But according to ‘Ahalkalakets,’ it was never meant to be taken as an announcement.

“Yeah, today on my YouTube, I said I might fight in September,” Tsarukyan clarified. “And everybody thought, Arman is officially fighting. I said I might fight this guy; it was Olivera because, you know, you never know. And I said I might fight him too. And like, people just started posting that I’m fighting with him.

“Like, I didn’t say, like, 100% I’m gonna fight him. I said I might fight him as well, so. It could happen, you know. My fight can be in September, October, December, you know, you never know. Maybe next year.”

In reality, Arman Tsarukyan is still exactly where he has been for months: waiting. Waiting for UFC White House, the outcome of Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje, and what the UFC intends to do with him. Even though a rematch with ‘Do Bronx’ is not impossible, the Armenian made it clear that nothing is official.

The one thing he seems certain about is that his next UFC fight will have championship stakes. It’s unclear whether that’s against the winner of the lightweight title fight or in a BMF title contest, but for the time being, the Charles Oliveira rumors look to be nothing more than fans getting carried away with another potential Arman Tsarukyan rematch.