Arman Tsarukyan’s interviews have started to become dangerous lately, and not because of anything serious. It’s just that when he sits down to read fan comments, you never know what he’ll say next. He talks about money, Conor McGregor, and food for five minutes straight at times.

This time, it somehow turned into him planning Alexander Volkanovski’s retirement. The funny part is that it all started with a joke from a fan. ‘Ahalkalakets’ was responding to tweets during an Aviator interview when someone proposed that the UFC book “Cooking with Volk vs. Eating with Arman.”

It sounded like a meme, but the Armenian didn’t consider it one. Instead, he ran with it and came up with a scenario where the fight happens, he wins, and Alexander Volkanovski ends up working for him. It sounded like sheer trash talk, but there’s actually a bit of context behind it.

‘Ahalkalakets’ has been saying recently that he may drop down to featherweight if the lightweight title picture stays busy. With Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje seeking to unify the belt, the wait for a crack at 155 could be lengthy, and Tsarukyan has hinted that he is willing to switch divisions rather than sit out.

In a recent interview, he even stated that his body could handle the weight cut to 145 pounds and that if he did, it would not be for just one bout. According to Arman Tsarukyan, he’d stay there for a few fights, so meeting Alexander Volkanovski is at least possible, even if it sounds crazy right now.

So, when Arman Tsarukyan saw the tweet, he instantly stated that the idea made sense, especially since it fits his goals, and both of them are known for enjoying food outside the cage.

Arman Tsarukyan finds a new career for Alexander Volkanovski

“Yes, it makes sense,” Tsarukyan said in his interview with Aviator. “I’ll beat Volk and then I’ll hire him like my chef.

And because when I beat him, he’s gonna retire and he gotta do something, and I can pay good money for him and to have a good chef like him.”

The food joke complements both of their personalities well. For the unaware, Alexander Volkanovski has his Cooking with Volk series, which he began last year, displaying recipes and meals outside of training.

Whereas Arman Tsarukyan has established himself as one of the UFC’s most avid foodies. The lightweight contender’s social media feed is filled with footage of him eating anything from expensive seafood to fast food in between training camps. Fans joke that his social media looks more like a food blog than a fighter’s page sometimes.

For the time being, the idea of a clash between the two is all talk, but Arman Tsarukyan seems to be full of confidence. In his view, if the fight occurs, he will not only defeat Alexander Volkanovski—he’s retiring him, paying him, and getting a personal chef out of it too. As for the featherweight champion, he’s equally happy to face Arman Tsarukyan if that matchup becomes a serious possibility.

“I love challenges,” Volkanovski said during UFC 325 Media Day. “He would obviously be a tough challenge. If he could get down there, that would definitely be a tough challenge.

“Whatever comes my way, I’ll be happy.”

However, that doesn’t mean he’d be snubbing other title contenders from his division for this fight.

“But Movsar (Evloev), Lerone (Murphy)– incredible records, or even Arman if he was to come down, yeah, that’s a challenge,” he added. “So that’ll definitely be something.

I feel like my takedown defense is pretty solid, so that’ll definitely be a fun one.”

Many people believed Alexander Volkanovski would retire after UFC 325. However, what we got was a one-sided rematch in which Diego Lopes was toyed with by ‘The Great.’ Now, it would be interesting to see if Arman Tsarukyan’s claim of sending the same man into retirement actually ends up working for ‘Ahalkalakets,’ especially considering how things panned out the last time fans counted out the reigning featherweight champion.