Arman Tsarukyan put together a modest win streak Saturday night at UFC Fight Island 2. The Armenian-Russian fighter picked up his first win inside the octagon at UFC 240 last summer, and complimented that with a win over Davi Ramos in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press in a virtual media scrum following the fight, Tsarukyan (15-2) was already looking ahead to when he might fight again.
“I feel very good. I didn’t have injuries, it means I can fight maybe in two months,” he stated. “Everything’s good, I feel very happy [that] I win.”
Two months is a fairly reasonable suggestion. The UFC finishes its stint on Fight Island this weekend, then heads back to Las Vegas for August. While Tsarukyan confirmed to Cageside Press that he has a valid visa for both the U.S. and Europe, essentially allowing him to “fight anywhere,” the coronavirus pandemic may complicate that, given increased travel restrictions.
However, the UFC looks set to return to Abu Dhabi at some point in September. Tsarukyan would be wise to stay ready, with that in mind.
As for the fight with Ramos, there were “no surprises,” he said. “[Davi Ramos] fights the same every time. I saw his fights, everywhere, he fights the same. He didn’t grow. It’s easy, I think,” he said. He made it look that way, at least, with 30-27 scores on two of three judge’s scorecards.
Things got interesting when Tsarukyan was asked who he wants next. “I want to fight with [Al] Iaquinta,” was his initial reply. However, before explaining why, he switched up his answer, simply saying he wanted any ranked opponent. “I want to fight with top 15, top 10. I want to let everybody know who I am.”
At the on-site media day in Abu Dhabi, however, Tsarukyan gave a little more reasoning for wanting Iaquinta: because of how Ragin’ Al looked while fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov.
That performance saw Nurmagomedov served up one of his toughest tests to date. However, Iaquinta has not fought since losing to Dan Hooker at UFC 243 last year.
