Arman Tsarukyan just poured gasoline on the missing UFC 331 rematch with Charles Oliveira, right as the UFC lightweight picture keeps getting more annoying for everyone who wants clean matchmaking.
Tsarukyan is now booked to fight Mauricio Ruffy on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles, but he told The Ariel Helwani Show that Oliveira was the matchup he expected first. According to Tsarukyan, the UFC originally had him lined up for Oliveira in a five-round co-main event before the call changed while he was already in camp.
Tsarukyan gave the full timeline of how Oliveira became Ruffy after he had already started camp:
“So I was supposed to fight with Charles, co-main event, five rounds. And then I went for my training camp, and then, two weeks after, when I was in the mountains, they called me and said, ‘We got a new name for you. It’s Ruffy.’ I said, ‘Okay, no problem.’ Because I don’t want to pull out and wait for Charles, because L.A., five rounds, you know, it’s a big card. And I have not fought long time, and I need this fight. So, and yeah, that’s all.”
Watch the source interview below:
Tsarukyan Questions Oliveira’s UFC 331 Exit
The sharper part came when Tsarukyan was asked why the Oliveira bout disappeared. Oliveira’s longtime Chute Boxe teammate Allan Nascimento died earlier this month, and Daniel Cormier previously said he believed that tragedy helped explain why Tsarukyan ended up across from Ruffy instead.
Tsarukyan answered with his complete explanation, including his claim that Oliveira may instead face Diego Lopes:
“Because Charles’ friend died and he cannot train. But I don’t understand — in three days or four days, he’s doing live streams and back in the camp. And probably they already set it up for the fight with Diego Lopes. He was just finding the excuse, and now he just finds the excuse. And I don’t know. Everybody is different, yeah. To lose somebody is so hard, but you could beat me and dedicate this victory to your friend. But you never know. But of course, fight me or Diego Lopes, for sure he would pick Diego Lopes.”
Asked whether he had been told Oliveira would fight Lopes, Tsarukyan made clear that part was his own expectation:
“I just think that probably they’re going to make BMF versus him and Diego Lopes.”
Tsarukyan also explained what had and had not been agreed for the proposed Oliveira rematch:
“No, it’s supposed to be just contender number one fight. It was like the discussion, but we didn’t confirm anything yet. They said five rounds, I said yes, and then that happened.”
Despite already beating Oliveira by split decision at UFC 300, Tsarukyan said he wanted the rematch to protect his position while Justin Gaethje remained unavailable:
“Yeah, I like the matchup because this year Gaethje, he doesn’t want to fight. And then if I just sit and let someone come, new face, and deserve more than me. So that’s why I took the chance, and I want to fight, so nobody can again jump and be number one contender.”
The lightweight picture is already jammed after UFC 330, where Islam Makhachev left another pile of contenders arguing over math. Ruffy brings less name value than Oliveira, but he also brings the exact kind of dangerous upside that can ruin a contender’s whole calendar. Tsarukyan beating Oliveira would have been clean title-shot math. Beating Ruffy is more like defusing a bomb and hoping everyone gives you full credit afterward.
That is why this matters beyond one spicy interview clip. Tsarukyan wanted Oliveira, Oliveira is still one of the biggest names around the top end of the UFC, and the replacement fight now carries all the risk without the same automatic reward. If Tsarukyan handles business in Los Angeles, this Oliveira line is not going away, especially after UFC 330 turned the title scene into another full-blown argument.
