In 2019, 22-year-old Arman Tsarukyan debuted in the UFC against Islam Makhachev, and it was on pretty short notice. Tsarukyan did not give up till the last round and gave a good fight but lost on the scorecards. Fast forward to five years later, “Ahalkalakets” cannot afford to lose to Makhachev again and will not take any chances, even if it means turning down a shot at the title. 

Tsarukyan recently beat former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in a gritty 3-round fight. Later, he revealed that he was still not ready for Makhachev’s next fight, now set for June. Daniel Cormier got the revelation directly from the fighter’s mouth as Tsarukyan revealed that he was apprehensive of the risk. 

Arman Tsarukyan reveals why he rejected the Islam Makhachev fight

The lightweight champion has a fight with Dustin Poirier, which was announced after UFC 300. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan is also pretty close to his lightweight championship goal, but he does not want to rush it. According to Tsarukyan’s manager, he was offered the fight with Makhachev but the team declined because the Armenian fighter needed to rest after winning a neck-to-neck fight with Oliveira. Tsarukyan told the same to Cormier.

He said, “I want it so bad that when they offered it I was thinking yeah maybe should I take a risk or not? I already took the risk in the first fight and like I don’t wanna go there again not be ready 100%.” He even complimented Makhachev and said, “Islam, he is a very good well-rounded fighter. Everybody like, thinks like he is unbeatable. No one can beat him. I don’t know why people don’t believe that someone can beat Islam.”

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Tsarukyan’s manager also spoke about this supposed fight and gave the media the details.

Arman Tsarukyan’s manager offered the insights

While speaking about the fighter’s plans, his manager explained the whole scenario. He said, “The fight with Islam [Makhachev] on June 1 was offered to us. This happened immediately after the fight. Well Before the fight there was an understanding that there was no point in going into a title fight with Islam on short notice, especially since the number one contender had already been achieved.”

Tsarukyan had faced Makhachev on short notice at the start of his career, and he was defeated. However, the Armenian has a chance to redeem his position again, and it seems like he wants to take time to prepare and be 100% ready. On the other side, Makhachev seemed excited with the idea of a bout against Tsarukyan as following the latter’s win in UFC 300, he tweeted, “Be ready. See you soon boy.”

Do you think Tsarukyan will fight Makhachev soon, and he has what it takes to be the champion? Drop your views in the comments.