Tsarukyan shuts down featherweight move and dismisses Evloev fight after Volkanovski KO

Arman Tsarukyan has closed the door on a move to featherweight and dismissed any prospect of fighting Movsar Evloev, declaring at the RAF 14 post-fight press conference that the 145-pound contender must first become champion before calling his name.

Evloev had floated the idea of a matchup with Tsarukyan ahead of his featherweight title challenge against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, contingent on the lightweight contender making the drop to 145 pounds. Tsarukyan, who beat Dillon Danis on the same card, was blunt in his response: “First of all he gotta win the title, and I am not going down to 145 lbs.”

The hypothetical was rendered moot shortly after. Evloev lost to Volkanovski by second-round technical knockout, ending any immediate leverage he had to negotiate a cross-divisional bout.

Tsarukyan (24-3) has been positioning himself for a UFC lightweight title shot since withdrawing from a scheduled rematch against champion Islam Makhachev in January 2025. He had previously floated the idea of moving to featherweight as a contingency if a shot at the 155-pound belt continued to elude him, but his comments at RAF 14 suggest that option is now off the table.

The path to a title fight at lightweight remains complicated. Reigning 155-pound champion Justin Gaethje has not committed to a defence of his belt and has not ruled out retirement, leaving the division’s immediate future uncertain. Tsarukyan’s willingness to wait — rather than chase a title in another weight class — signals confidence that a lightweight title opportunity will materialise.