Arman Tsarukyan has one condition for fighting Alexander Volkanovski, and it doesn’t leave much room. According to a Boxing News report, Tsarukyan said a matchup with the reigning featherweight champion only happens if the undisputed lightweight title is on the line. Nothing about a superfight, a catchweight or a big Australian payday. Gold or nothing.
Tsarukyan (24-3) is the No. 2 lightweight in the Knockout Daily rankings and sat at No. 13 in the UFC pound-for-pound list as of September 22. He fights out of American Top Team, last competed September 19, 2026, and has been in the UFC title mix a long time. He debuted in 2019 against Islam Makhachev, dropped a unanimous decision in a high-paced wrestling fight and still walked out with Fight of the Night. Some outlets called it one of Makhachev’s tougher early tests.
Volkanovski (29-4) is the current and two-time UFC featherweight champion, the first Australian-born fighter to win a UFC title, and No. 2 pound-for-pound as of June 16. He became the oldest featherweight champion at 36 and the oldest to defend that belt at 38. He last fought October 24, 2026. A run at 155 would make him older still, which is exactly why Tsarukyan’s terms make sense from his corner. A No. 2 contender doesn’t take a ranked detour against a 145-pound champ unless it pays off with a belt.
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Tsarukyan hasn’t exactly been quiet this week. He took a shot at Ilia Topuria’s grappling in a clip shared by MMA reporter Dovy Simu. “I think if you brought him to Chechnya or Dagestan, into any gym, even the amateurs would be able to take him down and ground and pound him,” Tsarukyan said. He also turned up alongside Eddie Hearn in photos the boxing promoter posted on October 30, though nothing in the sources says what the meeting was about.
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From a numbers guy’s chair, the condition is the smart play. A lightweight wrestler with a three-loss résumé gets nothing from beating a smaller champion in a non-title fight, and he risks everything if Volkanovski’s counter right finds a home. Tie it to the undisputed belt and the math flips. Until the UFC puts 155-pound gold in the middle of that cage, Tsarukyan has made clear he’s not signing.
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