Arman Tsarukyan reflects on being with Khamzat Chimaev in TUF like reality show: “I wanna beat him”
UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan has shared his experience of being on a reality show with Khamzat Chimaev. 'Akhalkalakets' recently made an appearance on Submission Radio where he spoke about being part of a reality show in Thailand that has a concept similar to that of UFC's cult show 'The Ultimate Fighter'.
Tsarukyan stated that he and Chimaev were coaches in the show. The 27-year-old shared that he was having a fun time doing the show and wanted to defeat 'Borz's team.
"We do a reality show with Khamzat Chimaev. I'm a captain, I'm like a coach and he's a coach. He has his own team and I have my own team. So, we film reality here... and train, film some videos, go to the beach, you know, chill..."
"Yeah almost the same [as The Ultimate Fighter] but people here are from Russia and they fight every day in the villa. They're like a little bit different... I wanna beat him [Chimaev], he wants to beat me. So I train my fighters very well to win against his fighters."
Check out Arman Tsarukyan's comments below (0:15):
Chimaev was last in action in October 2023 when he locked horns against former champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294. The bout was a highly competitive affair that lasted all three rounds.
In the end, 'Borz' took home the victory via a majority decision. The three judges scored the bout 29-27, 29-27 and 28-28 in favor of Chimaev.
What's next for Arman Tsarukyan and Khamzat Chimaev?
Khamzat Chimaev was scheduled to face former champion Robert Whittaker in a middleweight clash in June. But the 30-year-old had to withdraw from the contest due to an illness.
Now, UFC has matched up the two fighters again and they will lock horns at UFC 308. The event will be held on October 26 and the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates will serve as the venue.
Arman Tsarukyan, on the other hand, is expected to go up against Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt in his next fight. But the champion is currently injured so there is no official date for the fight yet.