Arman Tsarukyan on Nurmagomedov’s Radar

Arman Tsarukyan has been part of Usman Nurmagomedov’s long-term vision for a future fight since an encounter that Nurmagomedov placed in 2020. Speaking to Adam Zubayraev, Nurmagomedov said he spotted Tsarukyan while the group was in Moscow before travelling to Abu Dhabi. The PFL lightweight champion said the sight of Tsarukyan immediately brought back the memory of Tsarukyan’s fight with Islam Makhachev, prompting a thought that has stayed with him for years: one day, he wanted to fight Tsarukyan.

The detail gives Tsarukyan a specific place in Nurmagomedov’s career ambitions rather than presenting him as a newly selected name. Nurmagomedov said he was with Tagir Ulanbekov, Islam Makhachev and Umar when he noticed Tsarukyan in an elevator. In his recollection, the group was preparing to fight at what he described as the first or second Abu Dhabi event, while Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was in hospital. Nurmagomedov also said that Abdulmanap died that day. Against that emotional backdrop, he recalled asking whether Tsarukyan was the fighter who had faced Makhachev, then deciding that a fight with Tsarukyan was something he wanted in the future.

Tsarukyan was named in a 2020 recollection

Nurmagomedov’s account was direct about where Tsarukyan entered his thinking. “One day, I will fight him,” Nurmagomedov said, adding that he had been thinking about it even then. He described the moment as taking place five or six years ago, while also locating it in 2020. The source’s headline frames the interest as dating back six years, but the significant point is not a newly arranged contest: it is that Nurmagomedov says Tsarukyan has been on his radar since that Moscow meeting. That distinction matters because the source presents the matchup as a longstanding personal target for Nurmagomedov, not as a bout confirmed by either promotion.

Tsarukyan’s possible involvement remains conditional in the material supplied. Nurmagomedov is scheduled to return on Friday night for his second defense of the PFL lightweight title after winning it against Paul Hughes and then getting past Alfie Davis. He and Dakota Ditcheva are set to headline PFL New York at UBS Arena against Archie Colgan and Denise Kielholtz. The source says Nurmagomedov’s contractual situation has created talk of a UFC move and reports that he will be a free agent after August 1. Until a move is secured and a matchup is made, the recalled interest in Tsarukyan is a stated ambition rather than a booked fight.

What would need to happen for Tsarukyan

The source identifies several steps separating Tsarukyan from the fight Nurmagomedov described. First, Nurmagomedov must complete his PFL title defense. Then, a UFC move would depend on the promotion making an offer strong enough to bring him across. Islam Makhachev questioned whether the UFC would pay enough to do that, according to the report. Only after that contractual question is resolved could Nurmagomedov pursue the UFC path discussed in the story. The report also says Justin Gaethje unseated Ilia Topuria at the White House in June and that Gaethje pointed to Tsarukyan as the most deserving number one contender. Those details explain why Tsarukyan is part of the wider lightweight discussion, while still leaving any meeting with Nurmagomedov unconfirmed.

• Nurmagomedov said he first identified Arman Tsarukyan as a future opponent after seeing him in Moscow in 2020.
• A possible UFC fight involving Arman Tsarukyan depends on Nurmagomedov’s free-agency situation and a UFC offer, according to the source.

Arman Tsarukyan is therefore central to a future-fight idea Nurmagomedov says began years ago, not to an announced matchup. The source supplies a clear origin for that interest and a clear set of unresolved conditions around it. Nurmagomedov’s PFL defense, his contract status and a possible UFC offer all remain ahead of any bout being made. For now, Tsarukyan is the fighter Nurmagomedov says he has wanted to face since that 2020 meeting in Moscow.

Sources: Bloody Elbow