Arman Tsarukyan is singularly focused on capturing the UFC lightweight title.
Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) continues to push toward contention in the stacked 155-pound division. Despite being overlooked when the UFC assembled the interim lightweight title fight between Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje, which will headline UFC 324 later this month, Tsarukyan has remained undeterred in his pursuit of championship gold.
Since submitting Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar in November, Tsarukyan has stayed active outside the Octagon, competing in professional grappling matches against Mehdi Baydulaev and current UFC middleweight Shara Magomedov. He is also set to face former PFL champion Lance Palmer in a freestyle wrestling bout at RAF 5 next week, further sharpening his already elite skill set.
Unlike many fighters on the UFC roster, Tsarukyan did not come from hardship. He was raised in an affluent environment and never had to escape poverty to chase his ambitions. Yet, according to those closest to him, that comfort has never dulled his drive. If anything, it has made his work ethic even more remarkable.
“I’d like to see if there’s another athlete in the UFC like Arman who has everything but still has the motivation to train,” Tsarukyan’s older brother Artur told Red Corner MMA. “Have there been any? That’s the point. When you grind your way up from the very bottom, you look upwards and that’s your motivation. You see guys driving fancy cars, wearing expensive clothes, but when you already have it all, why would you train? Where does the motivation come from? Yet Arman still has it. He doesn’t see his friends, nor his family. He lives by a strict schedule, he’s on the mats all day long.”
Tsarukyan was granted a title shot against then-champion Islam Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) at UFC 311 in January of 2025, but a back injury forced him to withdraw from the bout at the eleventh hour. That incident seems to have drawn the ire of UFC president Dana White, leaving the Armenian with a mountain to climb in order to make his way back into the title picture.
Nonetheless, Tsarukyan remains focused and continues to work as hard as possible to stay ready for another crack at UFC gold.
“We’re here (at the gym) all day,” Artur said. “Arman trains all day long, although he could have done other things with his life. He’s got everything needed for a very comfortable life and I think that’s enough for him, but he has a goal: to win the belt and defend it. He’s obsessed with it.”
