Arman Tsarukyan Says UFC Confirmed Lightweight Title Fight After UFC 331 KO
Arman Tsarukyan claims UFC officials told him before and after UFC 331 that a lightweight title shot is next.
Arman Tsarukyan says the UFC has guaranteed his next fight will be for the lightweight championship. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Tsarukyan revealed that officials gave him the same message before and after his UFC 331 knockout of Mauricio Ruffy.
"Before the fight, they told me I was next," Tsarukyan said, per LowKick MMA. "After the fight, they told me the same."
Tsarukyan backed up those promises with a devastating first-round finish at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sept. 19. After absorbing a sharp right hand from Ruffy that caused swelling under his eye, Tsarukyan took control in the clinch and ended the fight at 4:56 of the opening round with a left elbow. Referee Jason Herzog waved it off after a follow-up strike.
The win extended Tsarukyan's streak to six consecutive victories and improved his record to 24-4. He has not lost since a 2023 setback, though a scheduled title fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 in January 2025 fell apart when Tsarukyan withdrew with a back injury.
Former two-division champion Daniel Cormier praised Tsarukyan's trajectory on his show, calling him "undeniable." Cormier noted that Tsarukyan has built star power through wrestling, boxing, grappling, and streaming, adding that "he just did everything right."
Current lightweight champion Justin Gaethje is not expected to compete again until 2027, which could leave Tsarukyan waiting. But at 27 and riding six straight wins, timing is on his side.
Arman has earned it. Six straight wins, a first-round finish of Ruffy after eating a right hand that swelled his eye, and the UFC telling him before and after the fight that he is next. That is about as clear as it gets in this business.
The problem is the belt is sitting on Justin Gaethje, and Gaethje is not expected back until 2027. So Arman is looking at another long wait, and we all remember what happened last time he waited for Makhachev at UFC 311. The back went, the shot went with it. I would not sit around this time. I would take a fight in the meantime, or push hard for an interim belt.
Cormier called him undeniable and I agree. The wrestling, the boxing, the grappling and the streaming have made him a real name. Just do not let the momentum die on the shelf.
