In one week, Arman Tsarukyan will finally get the chance to avenge his loss to Islam Makhachev six years ago when he challenges him for the lightweight title at UFC 311.
The two first met at a Fight Night in Russia in 2019, which marked Arman Tsarukyan's UFC debut after he opted to make a late move to fight Islam Makhachev.
Six years later, the Russian now rules the 155lb division and is on the verge of breaking the UFC record for most title defenses in UFC lightweight history.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Arman Tsarukyan made a great sacrifice at his wedding before the fight against Makhachev
Prior to their first meeting in 2019, Tsarukyan made a huge sacrifice at his own wedding as he had to lose weight to prepare for the fight.
Weight cutting is one of the biggest issues within the sport of MMA, and it's something that the UFC's rival promotion, GFL, is trying to combat by utilizing new weight classes.
In rare footage from Red Corner MMA, Tsarukyan spoke about the intense weight cut he had to go through after agreeing to fight Makhachev on just a month's notice.
“I took this fight on short notice, I only found out a month ago. If I had more time, I would have approached the weight reduction a little smarter and lost the weight in time, but I had no choice, so it was intense,” Tsarukyan began to explain.
“Yes, I have been waiting (for the opportunity), even though I had some things going on, my wedding. So April turned out to be very intense. My family is aware of my focus and motivation in this sport, I want to achieve my goal, unlike some family members (who did not understand).
“Some people don't understand how important diet and exercise regimen are and how stressful it can be when you have to get up and workout at 6 a.m., then go to your own wedding and leave early,” he continued.
Tsarukyan invites Ilia Topuria to join the lightweight ranks
Ahead of the UFC 311 main event, there have been several rumors about current featherweight champion Ilia Topuria moving up to the division to fight Makhachev, who he is feuding with.
Despite talk of a possible future fight between 'El Matador' and the Russian, 'Ahalkalakets' has invited the Spaniard to lightweight, claiming it would be good for the division as he is a big name.
“He should move to 155 because he has a big name. As much as we have big names in our division, it's better for us. We will make more money and our weight class will become famous,” Tsarukyan told MMAJunkie.
If the 28-year-old can dethrone Makhachev at UFC 311, he could share the cage with the featherweight champion in his first title defense.
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