Arman Tsarukyan hopes to get back to work in the UFC soon, but until then he kept up his winning ways rolling in adventures outside the octagon with his latest victory coming in a grappling match in India on Saturday.
The top-ranked lightweight contender, who has called RAF home for the past several months, traveled overseas to take on fitness influencer Ankit Baiyanpuria. This match lasted less than three minutes with Tsarukyan eventually gaining control on the feet before launching Baiyanpuria into
the air and then slamming him back down to the ground with a suplex.
A second later, Tsarukyan jumped into position to secure an armbar and it didn’t take Baiyanpuria long to tap out to end the match just over two minutes into it.
While not an unexpected result, Tsarukyan still put on a show with the big slam and then the armbar submission for the finish.
With this latest grappling match out of the way, Tsarukyan has been rumored for a major fight in the UFC in the second half of 2026, although nothing has been announced yet. In his post-fight interview, Tsarukyan mentioned he’d be interested in a future match with the controversial Dillon Danis.
With five wins in a row in the division, Tsarukyan is already considered the most deserving contender for a title shot at 155 pounds but it appears he’ll need to get at least one more victory before possibly getting his shot at gold.
Reigning champion Justin Gaethje has mentioned Tsarukyan as a potential opponent for the future, although it seems unlikely he competes again until 2027. That might explain why Tsarukyan is anxious to get back to business now before hopefully working his way towards a title shot next year.
