5 Defining Moments: Arman Tsarukyan

Many see Arman Tsarukyan as an eventual title contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division, even though he has not yet peaked.

The 26-year-old American Top Team representative enters his 2023 campaign with wins six of his past seven appearances. Tsarukyan last competed on Dec. 17, when he was awarded a unanimous decision over former M-1 Global champion Damir Ismagulov in their UFC Fight Night 216 co-feature. He has delivered 12 of his 19 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission, eight of them inside one round.

As Tsarukyan awaits word on his next assignment from UFC matchmakers, a look at five of the many moments that have come to defining him at this point:

1. Gold Rush

Tsarukyan laid claim to the Modern Fighting Pankration lightweight championship when he outpointed Takenori Sato to a unanimous decision in the MFP 214 headliner on Dec. 2, 2017 at the Platinum Arena in Khabarovsk, Russia. The 15-minute match was marked by entertaining scrambles. Tsarukyan struck for takedowns in all three rounds, applied his ground-and-pound and advanced to the back on more than one occasion, nearly finishing the former Pancrase champion with a rear-naked choke inside the first five minutes. Sato had his moments—he threatened the Russian with a tight kimura in the second round—but too often found himself playing defense against an utterly relentless opponent.

2. No Favors

Islam Makhachev improved to 17-1 with a unanimous decision over Tsarukyan in their UFC Fight Night 149 co-main event on April 20, 2019 at the Yubileyny Sports Complex in St. Petersburg, Russia. Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Tasked with a ridiculously difficult organizational debut, Tsarukyan put up considerable resistance across the 15-minute encounter but fell short against a more experienced and polished opponent. Makhachev’s four takedowns provided the difference, afforded him extended periods of dominance and wiped away the possibility of an upset. By the time it was over, he had compiled more than six minutes of control time against the promising Russian prospect.

3. Arrow Points North

Stock in Tsarukyan started its upward trajectory when he took a unanimous decision from “The Ultimate Fighter Nations” finalist Olivier Aubin-Mercier in their UFC 240 lightweight showcase on July 27, 2019 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards for the Russian. An accomplished judoka who also holds the rank of brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Aubin-Mercier was undoubtedly caught off-guard by his adversary’s tactics. Tsarukyan closed the distance repeatedly, trapped the Tristar Gym rep in the clinch and went to work with short punches and knees to the legs. Aubin-Mercier wobbled the Russian with a well-timed knee in the second round but failed to follow it and wound up spinning his wheels once again. Tsarukyan put to bed any hopes of a comeback in Round 3, where he countered a takedown into top position and applied his ground-and-pound, alternating between elbows and standing-to-ground punches.

4. Finish Line

Tsarukyan brought down former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion Christos Giagos with punches in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 192 lightweight feature on Sept. 18, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The end came 2:09 into Round 1. Giagos managed to scramble into top position during their initial exchange but failed to bottle up the fast-rising contender. Tsarukyan calmly returned to a standing position, moved into open space and let his talent do the rest. He countered a body kick from Giagos with a clean left hook that sent the Sanford MMA rep careening into the cage in a seated position. Tsarukyan followed with a savage barrage of ground-and-pound that left referee Herb Dean no choice but to intervene.

5. A Step Back

Takedowns, positional control and a late surge spurred former two-division KSW champion Mateusz Gamrot to a closely contested unanimous decision over Tsarukyan in the UFC on ESPN 38 headliner on June 25, 2022 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it 48-47 for Gamrot, who executed multiple takedowns in the third, fourth and fifth rounds. Tsarukyan, in the first five-round fight of his career, started to fade—he could be seen glancing at the clock—once fatigue sank its teeth into him, though the setback did little to cool the considerable hype surrounding him. In what were mostly even striking exchanges, Gamrot focused his efforts upstairs and connected with 25 more significant strikes to the head (68-43) than his Russian counterpart. The victory moved the Georgian to 4-1 inside the Octagon.