This weekend, Islam Makhachev faces Jack Della Maddalena for the UFC welterweight crown at Madison Square Garden.

The lightweight division experienced a dramatic shift after Islam Makhachev vacated his title to pursue opportunities in the welterweight division. Ilia Topuria capitalized on the opening and defeated former champion Charles Oliveira in dominant fashion to ...

Islam Makhachev believes Arman Tsarukyan is the most deserving lightweight contender. | Getty/UFC Islam Makhachev considers former foe Arman Tsarukyan the most deserving lightweight title contender. Tsarukyan should have ideally fought for the lightweight ...

Arman Tsarukyan was originally scheduled to fight in January 2025 but failed to appear for the weigh-in.  The Armenian lightweight was set to face Islam

Ali Abdelaziz gives Dan Hooker no chance to beat Arman Tsarukyan. Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) takes on top lightweight contender Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 265 main event on Nov. 22 at ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar ( ESPN+ ).

The UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria is very selective of his opponents; if a fight is not his worth, he won’t shy away from dismissing it. Arman Tsarukyan happens to be one of the contenders who does not fall well into Topuria’s radar, because of ...

There is no doubt that Arman Tsarukyan is one of the toughest opponents in the UFC’s lightweight division. His wrestling and overall fighting skills give him an edge over many other fighters in the weight class. After successfully defeating legends like ...

Tsarukyan was originally scheduled to fight Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, but withdrew due to a sudden back injury. Following that, UFC CEO Dana White punished the Armenian fighter, insisting he must earn his title fight with at least one more win. Since then, Tsarukyan has persistently called out Topuria, doing everything possible to provoke the reigning lightweight champion into responding.

Islam Makhachev has once more hit out at bitter rival Ilia Topuria, blasting him for intentionally avoiding one of the biggest threats to his lightweight run. Booking his own return to action in November, former pound-for-pound number one Islam Makhachev ...