Arman Tsarukyan had to cut weight during his wedding ahead of Islam Makhachev UFC showdown

In a week’s time, Arman Tsarukyan will finally get the chance to avenge his loss to Islam Makhachev six years ago, when he challenges him for the lightweight title at UFC 311.

The two first met at a Fight Night in Russia in 2019 in what was Arman Tsarukyan‘s UFC debut after opting to step in on late notice to take on Islam Makhachev.

Fast forward six years and the Russian is now reigning over the 155lb division and is on the verge of breaking the UFC record for the most amount of title defenses in UFC lightweight history.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCArman Tsarukyan made a huge sacrifice at his wedding ahead of Makhachev fightAhead of their first meeting in 2019, Tsarukyan made a huge sacrifice at his own wedding as he had to cut weight to prepare for the fight.

Weight-cutting is one of the biggest issues within the sport of MMA, and it is something the UFC’s rival promotion, GFL is trying to combat by utilizing new weight classes.

DEDICATION?: Arman Tsarukyan strangely suggests he’s not ‘100% invested in MMA’ days out from UFC 311 title fightIn rare footage provided by Red Corner MMA, Tsarukyan spoke about the intense weight cut he had to go through after accepting to fight Makhachev on just a month’s notice.

“I took this fight on short notice, I found out just a month ago. If I had more time I would’ve approached the weight cut a bit smarter, cutting weight in good time but I had no option so it was intensive,” Tsarukyan began to explain.

“Yes, I have been waiting (for the opportunity) although I had some things going on, my wedding. So this April turned out to be very intense. My family is aware of my focus and motivation in this sport, I want to achieve my goal, unlike some family (who didn’t understand).

“Some people don’t understand how important the diet and the training schedule is and how stressful it can get when you have to get up and train at 6 AM then go to your own wedding and leave it early,” he continued.

Tsarukyan invites Ilia Topuria to join the lightweight ranksAhead of the UFC 311 main event, there have been several rumbles of the current featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria moving up to the division to fight Makhachev, who he has beef with.

Despite the talks of a potential future fight between ‘El Matador’ and the Russian, ‘Ahalkalakets’ has invited the Spaniard up to lightweight, stating it would be good for the division because he is a big name.

“He should move to 155 because he has a big name. As much as we have big names in our division, it’s better for us. We’re going to make more money and our weight class is going to be famous,” Tsarukyan told MMAJunkie.

If the 28-year-old is able to dethrone Makhachev at UFC 311, he could find himself sharing the cage with the featherweight champion in his first title defense.