Islam Makhachev believes Arman Tsarukyan "should thank" him for UFC success, says their "rematch is inevitable"

Islam Makhachev has opined that part of Arman Tsarukyan's UFC success is owed to him. The promotion's reigning lightweight champion, who defends the 155-pound belt at UFC 302 this Saturday, was featured on a documentary on the UFC Eurasia YouTube channel.

The documentary consisted of Makhachev being interviewed about his career. When going over the topic of his past fight with Tsarukyan, the Dagestani phenom claimed that he actually selected the former as his opponent, which he implied is responsible for much of the MMA fandom's interest in Tsarukyan.

"I think Arman should thank me. I signed Arman for a fight against me. He got signed to the UFC. I didn't know anything about Arman then. I haven't seen him fight. I just thought of him a debutant."

Despite not knowing of Tsarukyan at the time, Makhachev famously had one of his most difficult fights when he took on the Armenian prospect. Makhachev, however, disputes the narrative of it being one of his toughest bouts.

"I wouldn't call it a close fight, even though many people say it was, I won every round. Arman still calls for a rematch. He had many opportunities to come out as a subtitute. I know that before UFC 302 he was offered to fight me. Either way, our rematch is inevitable. We'll settle this soon."

Check out Islam Makhachev's thoughts on Arman Tsarukyan (21:27 and 23:11):

For now, the lightweight champion will defend his belt against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302, in what will be his third defense of the title. If successful, he will tie the divisional record for the most title defenses. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan secured a hard-fought win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300.

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Revisiting Islam Makhachev's fight with Arman Tsarukyan

Islam Makhachev's first fight with Arman Tsarukyan was the latter's first under the UFC banner. However, Tsarukyan still gave a good account of himself, competing with Makhachev at every turn. Their wrestling exchanges were, in particular, thrilling, especially their clinch sequences.

Check out Islam Makhachev's fight with Arman Tsarukyan:

Makhachev scored several trips, but struggled to control Tsarukyan on the mat, whose scrambling ability was likely the best that the Dagestani star has ever faced inside the octagon. There was no finish, with Makhachev emerging as a victor via unanimous decision.