Arman Tsarukyan discloses future plans should he dethrone Islam Makhachev at UFC 311
Arman Tsarukyan recently disclosed his future plans should he dethrone Islam Makhachev and become the new lightweight champion at UFC 311. The highly anticipated title fight is scheduled to headline this Saturday's event, which is the promotion's first pay-per-view of 2025.
The bout is a rematch of their 2019 encounter, which saw the Dagestani earn a unanimous decision win. Since then, Tsarukyan has ascended the lightweight rankings and defeated top contenders including Beneil Dariush and former champion Charles Oliveira.
Despite a championship win over Makhachev being significant for his legacy, the No.1-ranked UFC lightweight made it clear that he intends to pursue more lucrative bouts should he dethrone the Dagestani. During his latest appearance on Pound 4 Pound podcast, Tsarukyan mentioned that he wants to be motivated by money rather than being preoccupied with his legacy in the sport:
"After this fight, when I'm champion, I'm just gonna think about money not about being two-time champion or defend [the title] ten times. I'm just gonna think about money fights...I'm not thinking what happens after this fight, I'm just think after this fight, maybe my father says, 'You know what, you're done with this sport. You won the title, come and work, make money with me'. So, you never know." [21:30]
Check out the full episode featuring Arman Tsarukyan's comments below:
Arman Tsarukyan expresses interest in rematch with Charles Oliveira
In addition to disclosing his plans should he defeat Islam Makhachev and become the new lightweight champion at UFC 311, Arman Tsarukyan expressed interest in a rematch with Charles Oliveira.
Tsarukyan mentioned that even though he defeated Oliveira, he wants a more decisive win because of public perception being that the fight was a close one:
"I would like to fight with [Charles] Oliveira. This is the guy who deserves to fight for the title and he's the most dangerous guy...You know, people say [my fight against Oliveira] was close, this, that, I just wanna go and like, crush him." [18:35]
Check out Arman Tsarukyan's post-fight interview following his win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 below: