5 reasons why Arman Tsarukyan is the dark horse title contender in the UFC lightweight division
While this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night saw an impressive performance from Islam Makhachev in the main event, another lightweight, Arman Tsarukyan, was equally impressive on the main card.
Arman Tsarukyan is now on one of the best runs in the UFC’s lightweight division, so should the Armenian now be considered a title contender?
Given his form in the octagon and his most recent victory, the answer is almost definitely yes. Right now, he’s only ranked at No.12 in the division, but it’s hard not to imagine him climbing further in the near future.
With that considered, here are five reasons why Tsarukyan is the dark horse of the UFC’s lightweight division.
#5. At 25, Arman Tsarukyan hasn’t even reached his peak
Tsarukyan’s record of 18-2 is already one of the most impressive in the UFC’s lightweight division. Given that he only debuted in the octagon in 2019, it’s pretty incredible that he’s already reeled off five victories there.
However, while he is an experienced fighter in terms of the number of bouts he’s taken as a professional, Tsarukyan is not a grizzled veteran by any means. When he debuted in the UFC, he was just 23 years old. At 25 years old right now, it’s safe to say he hasn’t even reached his peak yet.
For comparison’s sake, at the same age, Justin Gaethje had only just begun his career with WSOF, while Khabib Nurmagomedov had picked up four wins in the octagon.
Tsarukyan has already improved his game from what we saw of him in his early days. In his first couple of fights, he looked almost like a pure grappler. However, in his more recent outings, he’s unleashed a genuinely excellent striking game and has picked up two TKO stoppages in the process.
Based on his current trajectory and the fact that he’s still so far away from his athletic prime, perhaps five years even, it’s probably safe to assume that we’ll see Tsarukyan continue to improve in the next couple of years. That makes him a very dangerous opponent for any 155lber in the UFC.