Arman Tsarukyan has targeted retired two-division champion Georges St-Pierre for a wrestling match following his 10-0 technical fall victory over Dillon Danis at Real American Freestyle 14 in Las Vegas. The October 23 win positions the UFC lightweight contender to pursue high-profile grappling matchups under the RAF banner.
Tsarukyan Maintains Contender Status as RAF Plans Armenia Event
- Tsarukyan maintains his standing as the No. 1 contender at 155 pounds in the UFC, with 11 wins in his last 12 fights inside the promotion, balancing his MMA career with grappling crossover bouts.
- RAF leadership, including co-founder Bronstein, has indicated plans to host an event in Armenia on January 9, contingent on Tsarukyan’s UFC availability.
- A potential bout with St-Pierre remains strictly a callout, with no active agreement or indication of a return from the retired former champion, and nobody has said St-Pierre is interested.
The Road From Dillon Danis to Georges St-Pierre
Tsarukyan secured the RAF middleweight crossover title by defeating Danis in a one-sided main event on October 23 in Las Vegas. Physical altercations preceded the event, and Tsarukyan stepped on Danis at the conclusion of the bout. Despite the animosity, Tsarukyan prioritized the championship belt itself, ranking the RAF title at the top of his personal list ahead of his UFC résumé featuring wins over Charles Oliveira, Dan Hooker, Beneil Dariush, and Mauricio Ruffy. He’s OK because he knows what’s going to happen if he’s going to do something,
Tsarukyan said, adding, We were ready for that.
Explaining his ranking of the belt, Tsarukyan said, This for me ranked No. 1 because I won the title,
adding that he’s so excited to defend as much as possible.
Immediately following the victory, Tsarukyan turned his attention toward veteran MMA names for future grappling contests. “We’ve got a lot of names here, but I’m focusing on MMA fighters with the big names,” Tsarukyan said. “I don’t want to just wrestle with no names; I want to collect all big names, all the best fighters, so a lot of UFC fighters, good fighters signed. So, we’ll see, maybe GSP… They can bring in GSP; I would like to wrestle him.”
St-Pierre Remains Retired Despite Strong Professional Record
St-Pierre holds a professional MMA record of 26-2 and announced his retirement in February 2019, having last competed in November 2017 when he defeated Michael Bisping to claim the UFC middleweight title. While St-Pierre has been retired for some time, his grappling credentials and global brand recognition remain formidable.
Concurrently, RAF is evaluating an expansion to Armenia. Promotion co-founder Bronstein stated that an event is targeted for January 9 in Tsarukyan’s home country, provided that Tsarukyan’s UFC scheduling permits him to headline the card.
More on Arman Tsarukyan
Arman Tsarukyan names Georges St-Pierre as his dream opponent in RAF, saying he wants to wrestle only guys with big names.“I wanna collect all big names, all the best fighters,” Tsarukyan told the media after #RAF 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada.“Maybe they can bring in GSP, I’d like… pic.twitter.com/IEUVOVOUXf”
Arman Tsarukyan targets George St-Pierre for RAF match📰 https://t.co/3AomTNoPT4 pic.twitter.com/URteycXNmG
Arman Tsarukyan targets George St-Pierre for RAF match https://t.co/ZcQ89CfxRG
Worth a look
- Aprilia reveals RS 660 Phillip Island tribute limited-edition bike
- Tomokazu Harimoto Wins Second Consecutive Asian Table Tennis Championships Men’s Singles Title
- Rui Borges leads Sporting training and expects to coach Marítimo match (newsy-today.com)
- Tesla wins Swedish strike after IF Metall union calls off action (archyworldys.com)
