The possibility of Islam Makhachev fighting Arman Tsarukyan is quite high. It has been a few days since Makhachev gracefully defended his belt against Dustin Poirier. Makhachev displayed great finesse as he finished the bout with a D’arce choke in the final round, with just over 2 minutes left on the clock. However, Tsarukyan believes that he can easily snatch away the championship belt from Makhachev. 

Arman Tsarukyan and the Dagestani mixed martial artist have gone on and off for quite some time now. But it all began getting hotter when Makhachev announced that he wanted to go up to the welterweight division and try to become the double champion, following his victory. Without a doubt, the Armenian fighter was not happy with it at all. Despite the LW champ’s impressive performance at UFC 302, he believed that he could take on pretty easily. But why does Tsarukyan believe so? Let’s find out.

Arman Tsarukyan talks about his opinion on fighting Islam Makhachev

Tsarukyan was recently interviewed by the famed MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani, on the latest episode of his talk show, ‘The MMA Hour’. Therein, the journalist questioned ‘Ahalkalakets’ about his opinion on fighting the version of the Makhachev that recently defeated ‘The Diamond’. Surprisingly, the Armenian mixed martial artist was beaming with confidence and trust in his abilities. 

Tsarukyan revealed that the it “it would be very easy fight” for him. This indeed caught Helwani off guard. The version of Makhachev that fought Poirier was, in fact, one of the best versions of the Dagestani fighter. With lessons from Khabib Nurmagomedov in his arsenal, he went on and defeated one of the most formidable opponents in the lightweight division. But Tsarukyan noticed something that many did not.

When Helwani asked Tsarukyan to go deeper and justify his previous words, he pointed out that his confidence emanated from the fact that the LW champ got tired pretty quick. He said. “I mean, I could, I could over-wrestle him, that fight, as well. Because he got tired. When you’re tired, when you’re tired, you can’t do s***, you know. Even if you have the best skills in the world, if you’re tired, you’re done.”

Needless to say, the current UFC lightweight champion has expressed his desire to move to the next weight class on multiple occasions. But the Armenian mixed martial artist doesn’t want to let him go without a fight. And that’s what lit up social media when Makhachev announced his desires in the interview with Joe Rogan.

‘Ahalkalakets’ is next in line for the LW title shot

Without a doubt, Tsarukyan was impressed with the kind of performance that Makhachev displayed against Poirier. But when the champion declared his wish to become Champ-Champ, the Armenian could not take it anymore. He took to X and shared that he was next in line to fight him for the championship belt. Furthermore, he claimed that Makhachev had only defended his title against one real lightweight.

He wrote, “Congrats to Islam! But don’t try to run away to another division. You’ve only defended your title once against a real lightweight, and I’m next in line.” Tsarukyan is fresh off a victory against Charles Oliveira at UFC 300. Although he was offered to fight Makhachev at UFC 302, he had to decline to fight on such short notice. However, his desire to fight the Dagestani mixed martial artist is palpable. 

Who do you think would clinch the victory if Tsarukyan and Makhachev went against each other? Let us know in the comments down below.