"I don’t think he was sick” - Arman Tsarukyan skeptical of Islam Makhachev’s team claiming he was ill before their first fight in 2019

Arman Tsarukyan isn't convinced that Islam Makhachev was as sick as he was rumored to be when they clashed at UFC Fight Night 149 in 2019.

Prior to Makhachev facing Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 in 2024, it was widely agreed that Tsarukyan had given the Dagestani fighter his most difficult test.

But according to several of Makhachev's teammates, he was incredibly sick before facing 'Akhalkalakets', which they claim was the main reason for Tsarukyan's success.

They will square off in a rematch at UFC 311 on Jan. 18, with the stakes for their second meeting far higher than in their first. The pair will go to war for the lightweight belt in the main event of the card. Should Makhachev defend his title, he will be the first to retain the 155-pound title four times.

Ahead of the pay-per-view card, the Armenian was interviewed by Red Corner MMA. He revisited his first clash with the now-lightweight king, saying:

"Well, I didn't feel anything like that. For example, if a man had food poisoning, diarrhea or stomach ache, he would be sick after one round of such an intense fight. I don't think that he was sick. Maybe some light food poisoning. He could be vomiting because of being exhausted after the 15-minute fight of intense wrestling and striking. Nobody had given him such a hard fight before."

Catch Arman Tsarukyan discussing his first fight with Islam Makhachev below (8:15):

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Arman Tsarukyan took unexpected lesson from his first fight with Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev is widely regarded as the pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world right now. But Arman Tsarukyan disagrees, and he will be taking major confidence from their first fight into their upcoming rematch for the lightweight title.

Both fighters are incredibly well-rounded. Since their first meeting in 2019, they share a combined record fo 18-1 in the octagon, with Tsarukyan narrowly losing to Matuesz Gamrot at UFC Vegas 57 in 2022.

With their rematch looming, the title challenger was recently interviewed by ESPN MMA. He was asked to reflect on what he learned against Makhachev during their first fight and said:

"He's not as good as people think... I mean, people think he's unbeatable, crazy wrestling. But I took him down when I was 22 years old, so.."

Catch Arman Tsarukyan's comments below (4:45):