It seems fans are learning a lot of new things about Arman Tsarukyan as we approach UFC 311. For instance, did you know the lightweight had a rich family? So, this guy decided to fight inside a cage out of sheer passion. Talk about breaking stereotypes. And speaking of stereotypes, thanks to the Dagestani fighters, fans tend to expect Russian grapplers to be Muslim fighters. And the same thing happened in the case of Arman Tsarukyan.

‘Ahalkalakets’ was born in Armenia, a country that has a huge Muslim population. This was probably the reason why many people believed him to be Muslim, as well. But contrary to many beliefs, the Armenian-born mixed martial artist is not a Muslim. So, what are Tsarukyan’s religious beliefs? Join us as we find out everything there is to know about the #1 lightweight contender’s faith. 

What religion does Arman Tsarukyan follow?

With his roots in both Armenia and Georgia, Tsarukyan is a follower of Christianity. Yes, his nation does have a massive Christian population. This is indeed a common factor that has the fighting community confused about Tsarukyan’s religious beliefs. But Tsarukyan wasn’t alone. Even he was misled by a country’s general population when he tried to guess Ariel Helwani’s religion. 

During a conversation with the famed MMA reporter back in June 2024, Arman Tsarukyan compared the reporter’s hairstyle with that of Khabib Nurmagomedov. Except that ‘The Eagle’ shaved his moustache, while Helwani kept it intact. Helwani revealed that his mother was from Lebanon and his father was from Egypt. This made the #1 lightweight contender believe that the journalist was a Muslim. But Helwani cleared the air out and revealed that he was, in fact, Jewish. 

After explaining how he was a Jewish man, Helwani asked, “You’re Christian, right?” And ‘Ahalkalakets’ came forth with an affirmation. The MMA journalist concluded that they were all one, they were all brothers. No doubt, Tsarukyan had to agree. But that was the moment when many of us got to know about Tsarukyan’s religious inclinations. 

Like many others, even the lightweight’s coach seemed to believe that he was a Muslim. And you know what Tsarukyan did? He played the perfect prank on his coach. 

When Tsarukyan fooled his coach about his religion 

The Armenian fighter’s coach didn’t know that Tsarukyan wasn’t a Muslim for 2 whole years! Call it the longest prank, will you? Well, they did share a bit of laughter over that. In an interview with Adam Zuba, the lightweight contender said, “It’s been about two years and I say coach, I’m not a Muslim. And he says ‘how is not a Muslim? And why did Maga always say that?’ I say yeah he’s messing with me on purpose.”

His coach took it all sportingly and never really held a grudge over it. And that came with a bit of expectation. He wanted Tsarukyan to claim the lightweight championship belt and defeat  Islam Makhachev. Well, after asking for the fight for a long time, ‘Ahalkalakets’ finally got the chance to prove himself against the Dagestani champion. 

Come UFC 311, the Armenian lightweight contender will get his chance to fight for the championship belt. This would be the second time Tsarukyan and Makhachev would fight each other. And it’d be the perfect time for the #1 lightweight contender to exact his revenge for his previous loss. 

Did you know that Tsarukyan was a follower of Christ’s teachings? Do you think he can win the lightweight belt at UFC 311? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.