Arman Tsarukyan will once again compete outside the UFC, as he prepares for a high-profile grappling contest scheduled for December 30 in Yerevan.
Despite holding the status of the UFC’s No. 1 lightweight contender, Tsarukyan has been left without a title opportunity. In November, the Armenian fighter strengthened his championship credentials by dominating and submitting Dan Hooker, a performance that appeared to set him up for a bout with reigning champion Ilia Topuria.
However, after Topuria announced a temporary break from competition, the UFC opted to book an interim lightweight title fight instead. The January matchup will see Justin Gaethje face Paddy Pimblett, leaving Tsarukyan out of the title picture.
UFC president Dana White later addressed Tsarukyan’s situation, pointing to the fighter’s withdrawal from a scheduled title bout earlier this year against then-champion Islam Makhachev. Tsarukyan pulled out of that fight on one day’s notice, citing a back injury, and White indicated that the Armenian would need to re-establish himself before receiving another title shot.
With no UFC bout booked throughout 2025 and his last appearance in the Octagon dating back to April 2024, Tsarukyan has remained active by competing in grappling. Between May and September, he earned submission victories over Makkasharip Zaynukov, Patricky Pitbull, and former UFC champion Benson Henderson.
That run will continue on December 30, when Tsarukyan headlines a Hype FC event in Yerevan, facing UFC middleweight Shara Magomedov, widely known as Shara “Bullet”.
The contest will be held under submission-only jiu-jitsu rules, meaning there will be no points or judges, and the bout can only be decided by a tap-out. The match is scheduled at 185 pounds, the weight class at which Magomedov competes in the UFC, while Tsarukyan normally fights at 155 pounds as a lightweight.
The matchup was announced shortly after Tsarukyan publicly questioned the UFC’s decision to book Gaethje vs Pimblett as the main event of UFC 324, writing on social media: “Make it make sense.”
