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Arman Tsarukyan recently disclosed that he turned down a fight offer to face Mateusz Gamrot, with the lightweight contender firmly fixed on re-securing a clash with Islam Makhachev.
Tsarukyan was scheduled to face Makhachev in the main event of UFC 311 in January. Disaster struck for 'Akhalkalakets', as he withdrew from the event one day before their scheduled fight, citing a back injury as the reason.
Having fully recovered, Tsarukyan was offered a rematch against Gamrot but turned it down. A former teammate of Makhachev's, Josh Thomson, has now questioned the Armenian's decision to decline a fight against 'Gamer', who previously beat Tsarukyan when they fought at UFC Vegas 57.
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During a recent episode of the Weighing In Podcast, Thomson discussed the 28-year-old's decision to turn down the fight offer, saying:
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"I took a look at [Tsarukyan's comments on Gamrot], and I thought to myself, 'Is it because you come from money?' You're like, 'I can just do what I need right now. I'm good. I'm happy. I can just wait.'" [11:15-11:28]
He continued:
"You've got to take that fight [against Gamrot]. Plus, you're going to be the main event. It just makes sense." [12:34-12:42]
Catch Islam Makhachev's ex-teammate discussing Arman Tsarukyan below:
Arman Tsarukyan calls out Islam Makhachev following win over member of Team Khabib
Since Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement from MMA in 2020, he has taken a role as one of the head coaches of his team, which has been aptly dubbed 'Team Khabib'.
'The Eagle' took over from the role of his late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, following his unfortunate passing in 2020. The former lightweight champion has since been seen in the corner of his team in numerous UFC events, most recently for Islam Makhachev's UFC 311 title defense.
Arman Tsarukyan was initially scheduled to face Makhachev at UFC 311, and despite UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that Tsarukyan will not receive the next title fight, 'Akhalkalakets' has not given up hope of securing the fight.
Tsarukyan recently competed against Makkasharip Zaynukov, who trains at the Nurmagomedov MMA School, at Pit Submission Series 12. The UFC lightweight contender secured a decision victory. During his post-fight interview, Tsarukyan said:
"I need one more guy from Khabib's team. Let's do it again."
Catch Arman Tsarukyan's callout of Islam Makhachev below:
