LAS VEGAS – Arman Tsarukyan is ready to take a big step in his fighting career.
The rising UFC lightweight contender wants big names and high placements in his next UFC outings following his latest win. Tsarukyan (18-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) picked up his fifth consecutive win when he stopped Joel Alvarez (19-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in a bloody and dominant TKO win at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 202.
Looking to climb the rankings, Tsarukyan eyes a top-10 bout against wrestling standout Gregor Gillespie.
“I want to fight with top 10, but almost everybody has fights,” Tsarukyan told MMA Junkie at the UFC Fight Night 202 post-fight press conference. “(Gregor) Gillespie doesn’t have a fight, and he’s scared of me.
“The UFC offered me two fights with him and he doesn’t want the fight. I don’t know what he wants, but I’d like to fight him because he’s No. 9 and that would be a good fight. We’re both wrestlers, and if I beat him, it gets me close to title shot and top-five fighters.”
Tsarukyan hasn’t lost since his debut in the UFC in early 2019, a setback to current top contender Islam Makhachev in UFC Fight Night 149’s Fight of the Night winner.
The 25-year-old looks to return in the summer and hopes to get a headlining bout.
“I deserve to get fighters from the top 10. We’ll see,” Tsarukyan said. “And yeah, for sure, I’d like to get five rounds, main event. Maybe July, June, here in the same location. I’m ready.
“I’d like to have a fight in July, June, something like this because (I need) one month recover and two months training camp. I’ll be ready. I think I don’t have a lot of injuries and I’ll be ready in three months.”
Arman Tsarukyan calls out ‘scared’ Gregor Gillespie following bloody TKO win at UFC Fight Night 202