Islam Makhachev hits back at “attention seeker” Arman Tsarukyan after post-UFC 302 taunts

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is increasingly annoyed with Arman Tsarukyan’s public taunts.

Makhachev defeated Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 main event on Saturday in Newark. He remains the UFC’s pound-for-pound king after his latest successful title defense and will likely face Tsarukyan later this year.

After witnessing Makhachev’s win, Tsarukyan downplayed the titleholder’s accomplishments, questioning Makhachev’s conditioning and toughness. Tsarukyan also bashed his own American Top Team teammate, Dustin Poirier, for “giving up” against Makhachev inside the Octagon.

Makhachev, who hinted at a move up to welterweight immediately after UFC 302, seems refocused on facing Tsarukyan amidst the latter’s verbal barrage.

Islam Makhachev aims to silence Arman Tsarukyan

In a recent press scrum in Russia, Makhachev went off on Tsarukyan’s post-event remarks on him and Poirier.

“He’s just chatting,” Makhachev said of Tsarukyan. “He tries to fight but cannot attract attention to himself. He is trying to somehow attract attention to himself with words…

“He already had a chance. I beat him once. I think we’ll have to beat him a second time.”

Makhachev and Tsarukyan clashed earlier in their UFC tenures, and Tsarukyan arguably gave Makhachev one of his toughest fights. Makhachev walked away with a unanimous decision win over Tsarukyan in April 2019.

Tsarukyan earned the No. 1 lightweight contender spot following a win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300. He has won four consecutive fights, including knockouts of Joaquim Silva and Beneil Dariush.

Makhachev earned the then-vacant lightweight title by defeating Oliveira at UFC 280. He defeated Alexander Volkanovski in back-to-back title defenses in 2023.

Makhachev has accused Tsarukyan of turning down multiple fight offers since their 2019 clash. Tsarukyan turned down a UFC 302 title shot due to the quick turnaround from his performance at UFC 300.

The heat is ramping up between Makhachev and Tsarukyan, and by year’s end, they’ll likely clash in one of the most highly anticipated rematches in recent UFC history.