5 reasons why Arman Tsarukyan is the dark horse title contender in the UFC lightweight division

While this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night saw an impressive performance from Islam Makhachev in the main event, another lightweight, Arman Tsarukyan, was equally impressive on the main card.

Arman Tsarukyan is now on one of the best runs in the UFC’s lightweight division, so should the Armenian now be considered a title contender?

Given his form in the octagon and his most recent victory, the answer is almost definitely yes. Right now, he’s only ranked at No.12 in the division, but it’s hard not to imagine him climbing further in the near future.

With that considered, here are five reasons why Tsarukyan is the dark horse of the UFC’s lightweight division.

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#5. At 25, Arman Tsarukyan hasn’t even reached his peak

Despite all of his experience, Arman Tsarukyan is still only 25 years old

Tsarukyan’s record of 18-2 is already one of the most impressive in the UFC’s lightweight division. Given that he only debuted in the octagon in 2019, it’s pretty incredible that he’s already reeled off five victories there.

However, while he is an experienced fighter in terms of the number of bouts he’s taken as a professional, Tsarukyan is not a grizzled veteran by any means. When he debuted in the UFC, he was just 23 years old. At 25 years old right now, it’s safe to say he hasn’t even reached his peak yet.

For comparison’s sake, at the same age, Justin Gaethje had only just begun his career with WSOF, while Khabib Nurmagomedov had picked up four wins in the octagon.

Tsarukyan has already improved his game from what we saw of him in his early days. In his first couple of fights, he looked almost like a pure grappler. However, in his more recent outings, he’s unleashed a genuinely excellent striking game and has picked up two TKO stoppages in the process.

Based on his current trajectory and the fact that he’s still so far away from his athletic prime, perhaps five years even, it’s probably safe to assume that we’ll see Tsarukyan continue to improve in the next couple of years. That makes him a very dangerous opponent for any 155lber in the UFC.

#4. Arman Tsarukyan is on one of the best runs in the UFC lightweight division

Arman Tsarukyan has reeled off five wins in the UFC in under three years

Right now, the man with all the momentum in the UFC lightweight division is Islam Makhachev. He picked up his 10th win in a row over Bobby Green this weekend. Current champion Charles Oliveira, meanwhile, is also on a run of 10 wins.

Given the packed nature of the lightweight division, it goes without saying that it’s difficult for any fighter, however skilled they are, to put together a lengthy winning streak, which is why Oliveira and Makhachev’s runs are so impressive.

While Arman Tsarukyan hasn’t quite put together the same number of wins, the fact that the Armenian has reeled off five victories in a row is hugely impressive in its own right.

More to the point, it’s probably fair to say that none of his five victories have seen him truly pushed or tested. Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Davi Ramos, Matt Frevola, Christos Giagos and Joel Alvarez aren’t the best fighters at 155 pounds, but they possess excellent skills and Tsarukyan utterly whitewashed them.

Sure, Tsarukyan is likely to be pushed harder when he faces off against a top-10 opponent. However, given what we’ve seen of him so far, his winning run is going to be very difficult to stop, particularly as he’s building momentum with every fight.

That alone makes him a major dark horse contender for the UFC lightweight title.

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#3. Many of the UFC’s lightweight stars are getting no younger

Some of the UFC's current lightweight stars like Tony Ferguson are beginning to get old

One thing standing in favor of Arman Tsarukyan climbing into title contention at 155 pounds is the fact that many of the UFC’s lightweight stars aren't getting any younger.

Sure, Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira are reaching their prime years now at 30 and 32 years old respectively, but they are largely the outliers in the division’s top 10.

Rafael dos Anjos, Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler have all passed their 35th birthdays. Also, while Beneil Dariush, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor are a little younger, all three men have taken serious punishment over the years in the octagon.

Essentially, at the age of just 25, Tsarukyan still has years to climb to the top. With the likes of Ferguson and McGregor appearing to be slowing down, there’s every chance that he could claim the scalp of one of those older fighters and use them to reach title contention.

#2. Arman Tsarukyan already pushed Islam Makhachev to the limit

Arman Tsarukyan pushed Islam Makhachev to the limit in their 2019 clash

Islam Makhachev is currently the hottest fighter in the UFC’s lightweight division, with many fans expecting his dominating, bullying grappling style to overcome either Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje to win him the title.

Given his incredible streak, then, it’s worth noting that the last fighter to really push him inside the octagon was Arman Tsarukyan.

The two fighters met in St. Petersburg back in April 2019, in what was Tsarukyan’s octagon debut. While the Armenian came off on the wrong end of a unanimous decision, the fight was excellent and featured a number of high-level wrestling exchanges.

In fact, despite being just 22 years old at the time, Tsarukyan was even able to take Makhachev down, something that no other fighter had done to that point and only one more has done since.

It was clear from that fight that Tsarukyan had the raw ability to reach the top, but when you consider what Makhachev has done since, his performance in this bout seems even more impressive.

Essentially, Tsarukyan was able to do what the likes of Dan Hooker and Drew Dober were not – push Makhachev to the limit. That alone bodes well for him as a dark horse title contender.

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#1. Arman Tsarukyan is becoming more aggressive with each fight

Arman Tsarukyan has upped the aggression in his most recent bouts

Any fighter who can put together a lengthy run of victories inside the octagon tends to climb into title contention at some point. However, the difference in them doing it sooner rather than later tends to be their style of fighting.

If a fighter wins, but tends to go the distance a lot and fails to produce a number of highlight reel finishes, then it’s much less likely that the UFC will get behind them and push them as a star – or into a title bout.

However, if they produce thrilling finishes, then they’re likely to make a much more rapid ascent to the top, like Khamzat Chimaev seems to be doing right now, for instance.

Early in his UFC career, it looked like Arman Tsarukyan would fall more into the former category, particularly as his style seemed heavy on wrestling in his decision wins over Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Davi Ramos.

However, in his more recent fights, Tsarukyan has shown far more aggression and has used his striking skills to much better effect.

He brutally knocked out Christos Giagos on the feet and then used some seriously nasty elbows on the ground to take out Joel Alvarez this past weekend.

Given that he’s now started reeling off some nasty finishes, fans should expect the UFC to get behind Tsarukyan with quite a heavy push, making him the dark horse contender at 155 pounds.