Islam Makhachev knows first-hand how good Arman Tsarukyan is – and how deserving he is to be fighting for the UFC lightweight title.
The UFC’s 2026 campaign kicks off with a pair of title fights, as its
Jan. 24 UFC 242 event is headlined by Justin Gaethje fighting Paddy Pimblett for an interim lightweight belt, with bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison defending against the returning Amanda Nunes in the co-main event. It’s the Gaethje vs. Pimblett bout that has raised eyebrows, with undisputed 155-pound champion Ilia Topuria taking a personal break until April and No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan out of the picture.
Tsarukyan was scheduled to fight Makhachev at UFC 311 this past January, but was forced to withdraw just a day before the event with a back injury. UFC CEO Dana White has said on multiple occasions he has to earn his spot again, and despite Tsarukyan scoring a dominant submission win over Dan Hooker this past November, a title shot does not appear to be in the cards for him anytime soon.
In an interview with Red Corner MMA, Makhachev defended his would-be rival’s contender credentials.
“The organization may not like it, but they make more and more fights that I don’t understand,” Makhachev said (Russian translation via Red Corner MMA). “Of course, I think Arman should have gotten the title shot. Let’s be honest, Arman is not going to fight anytime soon.
“It’s Pimblett vs. Gaethje, whoever wins, he gets a shot at Topuria. Meaning one more year of layoff for Arman. It’s tough.”
Though Makhachev recently reigned as lightweight champion, that title picture isn’t an immediate concern of his right now. Makhachev defended the UFC’s 155-pound belt four times, then moved up to welterweight to compete for that division’s title, going on to defeat champion Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in November. He holds a win over Tsarukyan from when the two fought in 2019, when Tsarukyan made his UFC debut.
Makhachev remembers the long road he had to take to get to the lightweight belt—a situation complicated further by Makhachev’s mentor and longtime friend Khabib Nurmagomedov’s two-year title reign—and thinks Tsarukyan just has to wait for his time to come.
“Although I’ve had the same period in my career, I had 10 fights before getting the title shot, I mean a 10-fight winning streak, so Arman should probably wait a bit and be patient,” Makhachev said.
