UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev believes Arman Tsarukyan should show him gratitude for kickstarting his UFC career.
Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) made his UFC debut in a short-notice matchup against Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) back in April 2019. He lost a back-and-forth Fight of the Night unanimous decision and has since gone 9-1 to climb into lightweight title contention.
Makhachev takes credit for giving a 22-year-old Tsarukyan the big opportunity.
“I think Arman should thank me. I signed Arman for a fight against me,” Makhachev told UFC Eurasia. “He got signed to the UFC. I didn’t know anything about Arman then. I haven’t seen him fight. I just thought of him as a debutant. I wouldn’t call it a close fight even though many people say it was. I won every round, but Arman still calls for a rematch.”
Tsarukyan emerged as No. 1 contender when he defeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in April but declined the short-notice opportunity to rematch Makhachev in Saturday’s UFC 302 (pay-per-view/ESPN2/ESPN+) main event. Makhachev faces Dustin Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) instead at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
“He had many opportunities to come out as a substitute,” Makhachev said. “I know that before UFC 302, he was offered to fight me. Either way, our rematch is inevitable. We’ll settle this soon.”
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