Arman Tsarukyan is ranked No. 2 in the UFC’s lightweight division, and is the obvious choice as backup fighter for the Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje main event this June at the White House.
Despite what many had assumed in the first place, though, it seems Tsarukyan will not serve as the evening’s official backup fighter to the lightweight title match, as he has no interest in making weight on the evening of the event if he will not be needed. Instead, the Armenian says he is happy to keep his weight low so that if the UFC calls him on short notice because Topuria or Gaethje cannot make the fight, he is ready to accept.
“We talked about what’s going on next for me. I’m going to train and be in shape if something happens in the main event at the White House, I’ll back up, fight there [if needed],” Tsarukyan said.
“If not, they’ll announce my next fight after Ilia vs. Gaethje. I don’t want to [weigh in], I’m going to keep the weight low, in case they call me four, five days before the event. I’ll most likely fight the winner, but there are a couple of different things that can happen that are good.
“But I’m not going to cut and get to the scale at 155 as the backup.”
(h/t BJPenn.com)
Tsarukyan (23-3) most recently stepped into the octagon with Dan Hooker last November and increased his UFC win streak to five with a lethal arm triangle choke in the second round. Back in January 2025, he was scheduled for a shot at the lightweight title against champion, at the time Islam Makhachev, but a late injury forced him out of the fight on short notice.
While Tsarukyan has only competed for the UFC twice in two years, he remains extremely active in training, professional wrestling, and grappling. He most recently had his rematch with Georgio Poullas at Real American Freestyle 7 this past weekend, and secured the unanimous decision. In his first match with Poullas in February, the competition ended in a brawl following some cheap shots thrown from both sides.
A brawl breaks out after Arman Tsarukyan’s victory over Georgio Poullas at #RAF6 😳
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) March 1, 2026