Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan have history, and the talk about a possible rematch between the two is now buzzing everywhere. But is it really happening? It could be a yes or a no.
The two first clashed in 2019 in a UFC Fight Night event, where Makhachev defeated Tsarukyan via unanimous decision. After years of fighting their way to the top, Islam Makhachev is finally the division champion, while Arman Tsarukyan finally entered the lightweights’ top 5. The latter also impressed many after knocking out Beneil Dariush within the first 64 seconds of their bout last weekend. With this, many believe the rematch between the two is just around the corner.
However, while a rematch is indeed possible, Islam Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, thinks it will still take a while for Tsarukyan to get the chance to challenge the champ again. Despite his recent momentous victory, Mendez believes that UFC will still prioritize those above Tsarukyan.
“You would think that the UFC being the marketing machine that they are, that they’re always looking for intriguing matchups,” said Mendez in his recent YouTube channel post. “But I think honestly, there’s too many people ahead of him [Tsarukyan]. And I think Justin Gaethje and Charles [Oliveira] are ahead of him. So, I think that that’s something that they can hold later.
“But I think, honestly speaking, who we’re probably gonna be looking at, I would imagine, would be Charles or Justin. And Arman would be later. But I think he’s going to have to have one more fight – and not because he has to have one more fight – because probably by the time he comes around, he’s not gonna want to settle and not do nothing. So, that’s what I think.”
Mendez admitted that although his fighter won in 2019, Tsarukyan gave Makhachev “a very tough fight” to handle, further suggesting that the former deserves the rematch. However, Dan Hooker, who formerly fought Makhachev in 2021, believes the champ would rather retire before facing Tsarukyan again.
“He’ll retire by the time Arman [gets the title shot], for sure,” Hooker told The MMA Hour. “Too risky, there’s too many other easier fights out there. You’d rather watch Islam fight [Conor] McGregor or [Justin] Gaethje or someone like that…
“No one’s going to buy an Arman Tsarukyan pay-per-view. No one’s tuning into the press conference, no one’s giving the $80 for the pay-per-view…before the deep pockets didn’t come into play, but now they have deep pockets.”
