Arman Tsarukyan on Ariel Helwani's podcast: "I will become the number one P4P"

Armenian MMA fighter Arman Tsarukyan appeared on a new episode of Ariel Helwani's podcast, where he discussed the current situation in the UFC lightweight division, the potential fight between Islam Makhachev and Jack Della Maddalena, as well as Ilia Topuria's status.

When asked whether he thinks Topuria is afraid of him, Tsarukyan responded respectfully:
"Of course not. Of course he's not scared — he's a fighter, how can he be afraid of anyone? He just likes to play around with opponents and talk a bunch of crap," Arman said.

He also commented on a possible Makhachev vs. Maddalena matchup:
"I hope Islam beats Maddalena. It's a tough fight. Maddalena is a tough guy — great boxing, great wrestling defense. But I believe Islam has excellent wrestling, which will help him take Jack down, control him, submit him, or finish him with ground-and-pound."

When asked how a Makhachev vs. Topuria fight would go if it happened last week, Arman didn’t hesitate:
"Islam Makhachev, TKO win. These guys are on different levels, you can't even compare them."

Helwani then reminded that Topuria is now ranked number one in the P4P rankings. Tsarukyan explained that everything would change if Islam becomes a double champion:
"If he gets the belt at 170, he’ll be P4P No.1 again. He beats Jack, becomes No.1, I become champion at lightweight — I’ll be P4P No.2. Then we fight, and I become No.1," Arman added with a smile. "You have to dream big — and work for it."

Finally, when asked about possibly moving up to welterweight, Tsarukyan joked:
"Hell no, never in my life. It’d be easier for me to drop to 145 than move up to 170."