Tsarukyan vows to defend lightweight title at least 5 times if he wins belt

UFC lightweight top contender Arman Tsarukyan has set his sights on surpassing Islam Makhachev's four title defenses — provided he first captures the lightweight championship.

Tsarukyan faces Mauricio Ruffy in a pivotal bout at UFC 331 on Sept. 20 (Korean Standard Time). His camp has claimed he was promised a title shot with a win. Long regarded by fans and analysts as the division's de facto No. 1 contender, Tsarukyan would further cement that standing with a win over Ruffy, one of the lightweight division's elite fighters.

Ranked second in the lightweight division on both the Meta UFC and media panel rankings, Tsarukyan had been set to challenge Makhachev for the title in early 2025, only for the bout to fall through due to injury just hours before the weigh-in.

It would have been a rematch. Makhachev defeated Tsarukyan by unanimous decision in a closely contested first meeting in 2019. Since then, Makhachev has moved up to welterweight and claimed that title, while Tsarukyan has steadily worked his way toward a title shot of his own.

Appearing on Paramount+'s "Deep Waters," Tsarukyan drew a line at moving up to welterweight for a rematch with Makhachev, saying he would rather chase new records at lightweight first.

"Not yet. I need to defend the title at least five times. I want to break the lightweight record — Islam defended it four times, so I want to do five," he said. "After that, I'll think about whether to retire or move up to welterweight."

Current UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje is not expected to compete for the remainder of 2026. Gaethje recently said he injured both hands and does not expect to return to the octagon until 2027.

If Tsarukyan is to be Gaethje's first title defense opponent, he may face a considerable wait. However, Tsarukyan has indicated he has no problem staying active on other platforms in the meantime.