Arman Tsarukyan has confirmed that his grappling match against UFC BJJ champion Mikey Musumeci is set for August or September, adding another competition to his already packed schedule outside the Octagon.
Tsarukyan revealed the timeline during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, noting that the rules of UFC BJJ require him to compete in one match before he can challenge for the championship, which he plans to do ahead of the Musumeci bout.
Yeah, it's a real thing, it's probably gonna be in August or September, so, I wanna do that, I gotta do one grappling before him because it's new rules, I've gotta see how it works," Tsarukyan said.
UFC BJJ matchmaker Claudia Gadelha expressed interest in making the match after Musumeci publicly called out Tsarukyan earlier this year. Tsarukyan is likely to fulfill his prerequisite match on May 30, potentially on the Real American Freestyle card headlined by Gable Steveson.
The Musumeci announcement comes as Tsarukyan continues to wait for his next UFC booking despite holding the number one contender spot in the lightweight division.
Rumors of a BMF title rematch against Charles Oliveira have come out without confirmation. Tsarukyan has competed seven times outside the Octagon since his last UFC appearance, recording wins in wrestling, submission grappling, and most recently defeating Urijah Faber at RAF08.
