It is no secret that Arman Tsarukyan is next in line for Islam Makhachev’s lightweight title. And although the UFC has not made any official announcements yet, Tsarukyan has already begun training for the fight. The Armenian fighter is looking to get all the help he can get to deal with the Dagestani juggernaut and that means, training with Khamzat Chimaev.
The pair will run into each other on the sets of Hype Reality 3, the Russian version of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. In the third season of the show, Tsarukyan and Chimaev are coaches and will go up against each other.
However, unlike UFC’s TUF, the coaches will not fight each other at the end of the season. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Tsarukyan is hoping he can train alongside Chimaev as he revealed in an interview with Sport 24,
“[Khamzat] is there [on the set] and if there is an opportunity to train with him, it would be good. Since he is tall and can work in a left-handed stance… But in general, his build is similar to Islam’s.”
Arman Tsarukyan will be on the set of Hype Reality 3 with Khamzat Chimaev, and says he’ll ask Khamzat to help him prepare for Islam Makhachev
“To be honest, [Khamzat] is there [on the set] and if there is an opportunity to train with him, it would be good. Since he is tall… pic.twitter.com/gQxWa28vPP
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 14, 2024
The Armenian fighter believes ‘Borz’could be a good sparring partner since he shares a similar build to Makhachev and also possesses a relentless pressure wrestling style.
But since they are on opposite teams for the show that may be hard to do. It will be interesting to see if they end up sparring or training together.
Speaking of hard things to do, as it always does before a Makhachev fight, the silent whispers of ‘if this is the time when the champion finally falls’ come to light.
Beneil Dariush believesTsarukyan actually has a shot
Dariush is a prominent name in the lightweight division as the #7 ranked fighter. His last fight was against Tsarukyan himself with losing to via a KO.
In a recent interview captured by MMA Junkie, he spoke about the Armenian’s performance against Charles Oliveira and said that while the #1 contender could definitely break the wheel…
In essence, Dariush doesn’t think anyone can win against the town hall that’s what the Dagestani camp is.
“He [Arman] looked great against Charles [Oliveira]… I think he has a really good shot against Islam, but I would favor Islam. It’s like 60/40, 55/45 for Islam. It’s going to be a close fight.”
⚡️Beneil Dariush thinks the Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan fight is 60/40 in favor of Makhachev:
“He [Arman] looked great against Charles [Oliveira]… I think he has a really good shot against Islam, but I would favor Islam. It’s like 60/40, 55/45 for Islam. It’s going to… pic.twitter.com/PCIWIpE2OF
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) July 5, 2024
There is definitely a lot of credit to the argument. Makhachev is one of the more complete fighters in the company, with many believing him to be an improvement of Khabib Nurmagomedov.
And while his last fight against Dustin Poirier was fought till the bitter end, it was so due to the nature of the contest, one that Islam chose but never truly favored- striking on the feet.
The Dagestani won’t have to deal with Poirier’s level of boxing with Tsarukyan, who again is no brawler either.
