Arman Tsarukyan open to Alexander Volkanovski title fight as he expects Justin Gaethje decision soon

Arman Tsarukyan believes Alexander Volkanovski is a good matchup for him if Justin Gaethje retires.

Tsarukyan has said he’ll fight for the lightweight title early next year after cementing himself as the top contender last month.

It seems highly unlikely that he’ll miss out on this opportunity, though there is another name in the mix following this past weekend’s event in Abu Dhabi.

Volkanovski showed interest in fighting Gaethje before successfully defending his featherweight belt, which could open up another potential matchup.

Justin Gaethje previously said he will speak with his family in December about whether he’s going to continue fighting or retire.

However, Arman Tsarukyan said in a recent interview with Helen Yee Sports that he’s been told by the UFC that they’ll tell him by the end of November what’s next.

The lightweight contender believes that this is going to come down to whether the promotion offers to pay Gaethje a high enough amount to stick around.

Tsarukyan didn’t initially name Alexander Volkanovski as one of the opponents that he expects he would face for the lightweight belt if it becomes vacant.

That being said, he does think that ‘The Great’ would be worthy of another title fight at 155 pounds, providing that he won at UFC 333, with this interview taking place before the event.

“Yeah, I would fight him,” Tsarukyan said when asked about the matchup. “I think it’s a good fight for me stylistically. He’s old, bad chin. He’s a tough opponent but he’s a little bit old now and with me, it’s a perfect fight.”

This isn’t the first time that Arman Tsarukyan has spoken about how a fight between him and Alexander Volkanovski would go.

He previously expressed interest in fighting at featherweight, with Tsarukyan even being called out by Movsar Evloev before this past weekend’s event.

He clarified when speaking to MMA Fighting last week ahead of his RAF match with Dillon Danis that this was only an option if the UFC weren’t going to give him a lightweight title shot.

Given his current position at 155 pounds, moving down a weight class is no longer of interest.