Outside Source
A rematch with Charles Oliveira appears to be a possibility for Arman Tsarukyan. | Getty/UFC
The stakes could be quite high when Arman Tsarukyan is ready to return to the Octagon.
The UFC lightweight contender offered some insight into his next MMA fight during a recent video blog posted on his YouTube channel.
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“My next fight is the title fight, which is probably in September in L.A.,” Tsarukyan said. “But I’m a backup for the White House, too, if someone pulls out or gets hurt. … I may fight him [Charles Oliveira] again.”
Plenty to Be Determined
There are a lot of moving parts involved with Tsarukyan’s statement. The UFC has yet to announce its schedule for September, but if Tsarukyan is correct, the promotion will hold a major event in California around that time. Ilia Topuria is currently slated to defend the lightweight belt against Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC White House on June 14. There has been speculation that if Topuria wins that fight, he will move to the welterweight division. If that is the case, Tsarukyan seems to be indicating that a rematch with Oliveira could be for the vacant 155-pound belt. He defeated “do Bronxs” via split decision in a No. 1 contender’s bout at UFC 300.
Tsarukyan hasn’t competed in MMA since last November, when he submitted Dan Hooker in the UFC Qatar main event. The American Top Team standout wasn’t supposed to challenge Islam Makhachev for lightweight gold at UFC 311, but he fell out of the promotion’s good graces after pulling out of the fight just shortly before the event. Tsarukyan has remained active even when not fighting for the UFC, as he has gone 5-0 under the Real American Freestyle banner in 2026 alone.
In addition to serving as the backup fighter for the UFC White House main event, Tsarukyan has RAF matches scheduled against Tony Ferguson on June 13 and against Colby Covington on July 18.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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