Arman Tsarukyan has been spending time at the doghouse. But his luck appears to be turning, as he finally has an opponent. The UFC No. 2 lightweight contender started the year by getting snubbed for the interim title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett despite being the most deserving recipient. And the UFC had its reasons.

As far as the promotion was concerned, Tsarukyan had his chance against Islam Makhachev, and he squandered it. His antics outside the octagon didn’t help either. But after Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje was confirmed for UFC White House scheduled on June 14, the Armenian lightweight has revealed that the UFC matchmaking gods are finally rewarding him. 

“We are waiting for the Ilia vs. Justin [fight],” Tsarukyan told Michael Bisping in the Jaxxon Podcast. “And after that, I’ll fight them… It’s not official, but they say like that… And I can fight with the winner of Oliveira and Holloway as well, because I don’t want to wait too much. So, if they offer me Oliveira and Holloway, I’ll fight them because I don’t want to wait one year for the fight. 

Presumably, the podcast was recorded before UFC 326. So, the revelation about his next fight comes after Charles Oliveira defeated Max Holloway at the event. This means Tsarukyan is likely to face ‘Do Bronx’ for the BMF title before eventually taking on the winner of ‘El Matador’ vs. ‘The Highlight.’ As for why he wants to take this detour, he remained adamant that he wants to gain as much experience as possible.

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“I just want to stay active and fight because I love what I’m doing, and I’m still young, so I just want to get experience from the fight and get my belt and defend as much as possible,” Tsarukyan added in the podcast. 

This also aligns with what Tsarukyan told Red Corner MMA. 

“I am in talks with Hunter. He is in charge of matchmaking,” Arman said recently. “I’ve got nothing to say to Dana. I need to ask Hunter for a fight. We talked this morning, and he gave me a date for my next fight.”

However, even a fight against Oliveira doesn’t appear to be imminent. The UFC has already revealed the main events for all its cards through June 14, and Arman Tsarukyan is nowhere to be seen. And when it does happen, it won’t be the first between him and Oliveira, since he defeated the Brazilian via split decision in 2024. Since the first fight was close, a rematch would make for a great watch. 

In the meantime, he will remain busy with his other endeavors.

Arman Tsarukyan set for a rematch with Georgio Poullas

During his time away from the Octagon, Arman Tsarukyan has been sharpening his grappling skills on the mat. In late 2025, he faced Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov in a special grappling match under the Hype FC banner, which ended in a draw. He followed that up with a victory over Lance Palmer under the RAF banner in January.

Tsarukyan returned to the mat again in February to face Georgio Poullas. Although he secured the win, a post-match brawl between their teams fueled hype for a rematch scheduled for March 28. Before that rematch, however, Tsarukyan took on former UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev in another grappling bout and came out victorious.

Even after his latest win away from the cage, Tsarukyan called out Charles Oliveira. However, he also aimed at Dillon Danis, who appears to have accepted the challenge. 

It’s clear that Arman Tsarukyan hasn’t lacked action since defeating Dan Hooker—though most of it has come outside the cage. Now, it appears he may finally have a potential opponent lined up in the UFC, but the promotion has yet to confirm anything. Do you think the fight will actually happen?