Khabib Nurmagomedov, a UFC Hall of Famer, is confident Arman Tsarukyan will defeat lightweight champion Ilia Topuria. In an August 24, 2025, interview with Kamil Gadzhiyev on YouTube, Khabib gave Tsarukyan an 80-20 advantage, citing his superior wrestling and well-rounded skills. He believes Topuria, who moved up from featherweight, has never faced a grappler like Tsarukyan, making this a tough fight for the champion.
Tsarukyan’s Winning Formula
Khabib stated:
“I don’t see Topuria having a chance. Arman fights too well at range against strikers. He keeps his distance well, works better with his kicks. And now Arman has improved a lot. He has footage that he can study and analyze. If they fought three years ago, maybe he wouldn’t have been as cautious. But now, you can clearly see what dangers Topuria brings. I believe right now, the best lightweight is Tsarukyan.”
He added, “[He will win] due to his MMA style, not only wrestling. Arman can take people down, he has good elbows on the ground. Very good elbows. He can grapple, submit, take the back. He won’t [go into dangerous striking distance with Topuria]. There’s already enough footage to study. I’d say it’s 80-20 in Arman’s favor.”
Khabib emphasized Topuria’s lack of experience against wrestlers.
“We all know the level of wrestling that Holloway and Oliveira had, it’s practically nonexistent,” he said. “They are strikers. They went forward and got caught. But a guy who grabs a leg, wrestles, grabs the body, wrestles, Topuria hasn’t faced that. He’s only fought strikers. Volkanovski doesn’t wrestle, the others don’t wrestle. Name at least one of his opponents who uses even 20% wrestling. Not 50%, just 20%.”
Khabib noted:
“His wrestling, his pressure, his physicality, it all matters. He’s taller by almost 10 centimeters, if I’m not mistaken. He’s heavier, and on fight night he’ll be the bigger man. And of course, wrestling always plays a huge role. Especially in fights like this.”
He concluded:
“It’s an interesting fight. I know the UFC is cautious, they don’t want to throw him to Topuria too quickly. Right now Topuria is a bigger star than Arman. But if Arman gets a big win, where can they hide him? They won’t be able to.”
Khabib doesn’t see Ilia Topuria having a chance against Arman Tsarukyan 😳
“I believe right now, the best lightweight is [Tsarukyan]… I’d say it’s 80%-20% in Arman’s favor.
We all know the level of wrestling that Holloway and Charles Oliveira had. It’s practically… pic.twitter.com/lay29wEHiN
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 25, 2025
Arman Tsarukyan turned pro in MMA in 2015, joining the UFC in 2019 with a decision win over Olivier Aubin-Mercier. His 22-3 record includes victories over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in 2024 and Beneil Dariush at UFC Austin in 2023. His only UFC losses were to Mateusz Gamrot in 2022 and Islam Makhachev in 2019. Training with Khabib and Javier Mendez at American Kickboxing Academy, Tsarukyan is the No. 1 lightweight contender.
Ilia Topuria began martial arts at seven. He joined the UFC in 2020, going 9-0 with knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in 2024, Max Holloway at UFC 308 in 2024, and Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 on June 28, 2025. His 17-0 record includes six knockouts and eight submissions. After vacating the featherweight title in April 2025 to move to lightweight, Topuria won the vacant lightweight belt against Oliveira, earning Performance of the Night. His boxing-heavy style has yet to face a strong wrestler.
Khabib, 36, retired in 2020 with a 29-0 record.
