Arman Tsarukyan Reveals Odd UFC Freedom 250 Matchmaking Idea Explored for Michael Chandler

Arman Tsarukyan just revealed the UFC's initial plan involving him and Michael Chandler for the upcoming UFC Fredoom 250 card.

Arman Tsarukyan Reveals Odd UFC Freedom 250 Matchmaking Idea Explored for Michael Chandler

Arman Tsarukyan and Michael Chandler [via Bloody Elbow and Yahoo Sports]

In Short
  • Arman Tsarukyan was initially offered a fight against Michael Chandler at UFC Freedom 250, which was later canceled.
  • Chandler will instead face Mauricio Ruffy at the event, as the UFC deemed the matchup with Tsarukyan unfavorable for him.
  • Tsarukyan is set to fight Keelon Jimison at RAF 09 on May 30, marking his return to competition after a long hiatus.

Arman Tsarukyan, the No. 2 ranked UFC lightweight, hasn’t fought in the promotion since UFC Qatar in November last year. Moreover, he is yet to have a prospective UFC fight on the horizon. The Armenian has been in lightweight limbo since pulling out of UFC 311. However, it seems the UFC had a bizarre plan for the lightweight at the UFC Freedom 250 card in June.

Tsarukyan revealed that the UFC’s original plan was to have him fight Michael Chandler at the White House. It is quite an odd bit of booking considering their rankings differ wildly. But it seems the UFC quickly changed its mind since that was not the fight they finally announced for Chandler.

The former Bellator fighter will take on Mauricio Ruffy at the White House. This matchup makes sense for more reasons than just the fighters’ rankings, according to Arman Tsarukyan. The 29-year-old revealed this backstage dealings on the PBD Podcast.

They wanted to match me with (Michael) Chandler, but then realized it’s a bad fight for him. He’s representing the US, and it’s like 99.9% chance I beat him, so they went with [Mauricio] Ruffy instead.

Arman Tsarukyan via PBD Podcast

Tsarukyan did note in this podcast that he would be the backup fighter in the event of either Chandler or Ruffy getting injured. Nonetheless, a fight against Mauricio Ruffy, the No. 10 ranked lightweight is much more sensible for ‘Iron Mike’.

Chandler is ranked No. 13 in the promotion on a 3-fight losing skid, with his last win coming in 2022 against Tony Ferguson. So, with no wins over active UFC fighters in the last 4 years, a fight against Tsarukyan never made sense.

For the longest time, Michael Chandler sat on the sidelines awaiting a call-up to fight Conor McGregor, something for which fans criticized him to no end. But being among the only Americans to fight on the UFC Freedom 250 card set against the backdrop of the White House seems like worthy compensation.

Moreover, with this fight coming at the age of 40 for Chandler, the stage could be perfectly set for a retirement in one of the biggest events in UFC history.

Arman Tsarukyan probably won’t be too concerned with all this anymore. That is because he already has a match of his own to worry about, which will take place just two weeks before the UFC Freedom 250 card.

Arman Tsarukyan confirms his next RAF appearance and opponent

Arman Tsarukyan has slowly but surely become the biggest star on the RAF roster. He has made 4 appearances in the promotion, remaining undefeated so far, with his last win coming against Urijah Faber at RAF 08. Now, it’s time for the Armenian to make his next appearance for the promotion, and he already has an opponent.

Arman Tsarukyan
Arman Tsarukyan (via MMA Fighting)

Arman Tsarukyan is going up against Keelon Jimison, also known as Mugzy, at RAF 09. It will be a middleweight bout that will take place on May 30 in Dallas. Mugzy is a rising influencer wrestler who has an even 1-1 record in RAF. Mugzy made his debut at RAF 05 in a loss against Georgio Poullas. But he managed to rebound from that loss just a month later at RAF 06, beating UFC legend Clay Guida.

RAF 09 will be headlined by recent UFC signee, Gable Stevenson, debuting against Alexandr Romanov. The event will also feature Tsarukyan’s fellow UFC fighter Merab Dvalishvili taking on legend Frankie Edgar. They aren’t the only UFC fighters on the card, though. As he winds down his UFC career, Colby Covington will also compete in this upcoming card against Chris Weidman.

The card for the upcoming RAF event is stacked from top to bottom. As of now, no one brings more eyeballs to the promotion than Arman Tsarukyan. The Armenian lightweight knows this as well, recently joking about how he deserves a percentage of the company.

Tsarukyan starting a brawl with Georgio Poullas after their match at RAF 06 or pushing Urijah Faber off the stage at RAF 09 captured everyone’s attention.

So, it seems Tsarukyan can put the bizarre UFC matchmaking behind him for now. After all, he appears on the RAF mats in just a month’s time.

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