Arman Tsarukyan and Makshep Zainukov faced off in a staredown ahead of their grappling match

On May 2 in Dubai, UFC star Arman Tsarukyan will face Makshep Zainukov — a teammate of UFC champion Islam Makhachev — in a grappling bout. The match will take place as part of the Karate Combat 54 event, with the broadcast starting at 7:00 PM Moscow time on the organization’s official YouTube channel.

This is not Tsarukyan’s first grappling appearance — he has previously competed in similar tournaments in Krasnodar and Las Vegas, demonstrating high-level skill and versatility.

In a recent podcast with Egor Glumov recorded in Yerevan, Tsarukyan commented on his participation in the tournament:

“Right now, I’m not in the UFC title race — I have to wait and see what Islam Makhachev decides. If he moves up to welterweight, I’ll fight for the interim title in lightweight. If he stays, I’ll have to fight in another contender bout, maybe against Oliveira or Gaethje. But everything is still uncertain, so I’ve decided to feel the spirit of competition again and stay in shape with this match. Maybe I’ll have another one in May too.”