LOS ANGELES -- Arman Tsarukyan's return to Los Angeles reads like a Hollywood screenplay. He lost the trust of UFC brass and fans after pulling out one day before his lightweight title fight with Islam Makhachev in January 2025. It should have imploded his career. Instead, he's back in Tinseltown as a much bigger star competing at UFC 331.
Tsarukyan has become undeniably valuable to the promotion, even if UFC CEO and president Dana White has reservations about the loose cannon. His time in the UFC doghouse became an unlikely launching pad. He redirected his time and energy to outside ventures: collaborating with popular streamers and competing in freestyle wrestling, where his post-fight antics attracted even more attention. He not only grew his profile, but also rallied more support for his legitimate title aspirations.
"My friend helped me and taught me how. I like it, and now I'm doing it with myself," Tsarukyan told CBS Sports. "I stream with Nina [Drama] and N3on. We make viral content. It's easy and helps me grow."
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Tsarukyan solved one part of the problem. Fans want to see him fight for a title again. Now he must make sure someone else doesn't take his place.
Tsarukyan (No. 2) fights Mauricio Ruffy (No. 7) on Saturday. It's an enormous gamble for a top contender. Tsarukyan admits that losing could kill his championship aspirations, but waiting carries its own risks. Ruffy, Paddy Pimblett, Quillan Salkilld and Salahdine Parnasse are among the contenders catching up to Tsarukyan. He's already spent enough time on the sidelines and must stay ahead of the pack.
"I want to stay active because there are many contenders now in my division," Tsarukyan said. "If I don't fight, they'll fight amongst themselves and become the No. 1 contender. I need to prove that I'm the best. I'm going to show that I'm the best this Saturday. I'm going to call out Justin Gaethje, and I hope he doesn't do something in his pants."
Tsarukyan wants to make the question of who faces Gaethje next moot. First, he has to get the champion interested.
Gaethje hasn't shown much enthusiasm for Tsarukyan. He recently accused Tsarukyan of faking the injury that removed him from UFC 311 and told Demetrious Johnson he hoped Ruffy punches Tsarukyan "so hard." Tsarukyan interprets the dismissiveness differently. He thinks Gaethje simply doesn't want to fight him.
"It's a bad matchup for him. He doesn't even want to talk about me," Tsarukyan said. "When they ask, 'Who is the top contender?' He gives weird names but not me. But his father said, 'Arman is next.' So only his father knows who the real No. 1 contender is."
Ruffy is the immediate obstacle between Tsarukyan and the title opportunity that slipped away in Los Angeles. He's also considerably more dangerous now. Ruffy reinvented himself after leaving The Fighting Nerds, relocating to Australia to work alongside UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
The question is whether that move fixed the weakness Tsarukyan is best equipped to exploit. Ruffy struggled badly with Benoit Saint Denis' grappling one year ago. Volkanovski and his team insist he's made enormous improvements since then. Tsarukyan isn't convinced that one year can close the gap between them.
"He can learn to defend takedowns, but they don't have wrestlers like me in their camp," Tsarukyan said. "Alex Volkanovski is more of a striker than a wrestler. It doesn't mean that I can't take him down. Volkanovski can say whatever he wants. He can defend one takedown, but eventually he'll be on the ground."
Tsarukyan's goal is to leave UFC 331 without another lightweight storyline getting in his way. UFC commentator Jon Anik recently alluded to the possibility of Gaethje immediately rematching former champion Ilia Topuria. Tsarukyan has already watched one title opportunity disappear overnight. Taking the Ruffy fight is his attempt to keep control of the next one. He doesn't see much merit in running Gaethje vs. Topuria back immediately, either.
"I don't think he deserves it because the fight wasn't close. Justin mauled him and finished him," Tsarukyan said. "It would've made sense if it was a close decision. But right now, no way. Even for him, it's a bad match-up. They need to give him an easy fight to come back, and then fight for a title."
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