Arman Tsarukyan doesn’t do diplomatic. Asked whether he would face Alexander Volkanovski with lightweight title contention on the line, the No. 2 lightweight answered in an interview with Helen Yee. Dovy (@DovySimuMMA) clipped the answer and posted it on X on October 26:
“Yeah, I would fight him. He’s old, bad chin. He’s a tough opponent, but he’s a little bit old now. For me, it’s a perfect fight.”
The question came at a natural moment. Two days earlier at UFC 333, Volkanovski finished Movsar Evloev in the second round and kept the featherweight title. He is 38 now. According to Wikipedia, he was already the oldest man to win the UFC featherweight belt, at 36, and the Evloev win made him the oldest to defend it successfully. He moved to 29-4, and as of June he sat No. 2 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings.
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Volkanovski is the one who opened the door to 155 pounds, though he wasn’t looking at Tsarukyan. After the event he said he wants to move up and fight Justin Gaethje as his retirement fight. “I don’t want to hold divisions up, but I believe we could do this and not hold the divisions up,” he said, in comments posted by Championship Rounds. “That’s something I’d retire for. If they want to give me that opportunity, win or lose I’d retire.”
Tsarukyan turned 30 on October 11, which leaves nearly eight years between the two men. He is 24-3, trains at American Top Team, and last fought September 19. He was No. 13 pound-for-pound as of September 22. His route here was a long one. He was born to an Armenian family in Akhalkalaki, Georgia, grew up in Khabarovsk, and earned Master of Sports in freestyle wrestling. He also spent six years in ice hockey, playing on Amur’s junior team, before he gave it up to help his father in construction. His UFC debut in April 2019 was a unanimous decision loss to Islam Makhachev that earned Fight of the Night, and he has been knocking on the title door at lightweight ever since.
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That is the context for the remark. A contender who has spent years waiting on a shot sees the featherweight king mention a trip up in weight and wants that fight for himself. Volkanovski just beat a top featherweight in the second round, so calling him old now looks like a strange read on his form. Tsarukyan sees an aging champion with durability questions. Volkanovski’s own words point to a farewell against Gaethje.
Nothing is booked. For now Volkanovski holds the 145-pound belt and has named one opponent he would retire after, and that opponent is Justin Gaethje.
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