Should his expected shot at Islam Makhachev's UFC lightweight title be delayed until 2025, Arman Tsarukyan is open to facing another contender for interim status.
Tsarukyan secured his first opportunity at gold on MMA's biggest stage by recording his biggest win to date at the expense of former champion Charles Oliveira on the milestone UFC 300 card this past April.
With the promotion always looking to have Makhachev defend his belt in Abu Dhabi, Tsarukyan was expected to challenge his former opponent in the main event of UFC 308 this coming October.
Disaster stuck recently, however, after Makhachev suffered a severe hand injury that could leave him on the sidelines until late 2024 or even the next calendar year.
While a patient wait until December would be welcomed by Tsarukyan, the top contender wouldn't mind returning to action in the meantime should the latter of those two timelines come to fruition...
Tsarukyan Open To Poirier, Gaethje, Chandler Matchups For Interim Title
During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, Tsarukyan provided an update on the status of his title shot following confirmation that Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway for the featherweight belt will instead top the UFC 308 lineup on Oct. 26.
The Russian-Armenian acknowledged that he may need to wait until 2025 to compete with undisputed gold on the line. And if that's the case, he'd be open to adding a second champ to the division by facing either Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, or Michael Chandler for an interim strap.
My manager told me I was gonna fight in October versus Islam, and then he said to UFC that he got injured. Now, they've moved that fight to December or maybe next year," Tsarukyan said. "Of course it's sad, because I already started training really hard and I'm in shape. ... But it is what it is.
If it's December, for me it doesn't matter. I'm gonna wait and train as much as I can," Tsarukyan continued. "If Islam can't fight this year, for sure I would like to fight for the interim title, and it doesn't matter who is gonna be in front of me. Dustin Poirier, he is a solid fighter and he has a lot of experience. Yeah, it would be great. Dustin, Gaethje — Michael Chandler as well.
During his rise up the lightweight ladder, Tsarukyan frequently accused the likes of Gaethje and Chandler of holding their top five positions hostage by not fighting up-and-comers.
More recently, his focus has been on Chandler's continued wait for Conor McGregor's comeback, which was recently scrapped from the UFC 303 card in June due to an injury to the Irishman.
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With talk of Chandler finally moving on, perhaps the former three-time Bellator champ will be receptive to Tsarukyan's interim title pitch.