Arman Tsarukyan Reveals Heaviest Off-Season Weight When Not in Fight Camp

UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan, who has expressed interest in serving as a backup for the upcoming UFC Freedom 250 main event, recently disclosed details about his off-season weight and dietary habits. During an interview with streamer Clavicular, Tsarukyan elaborated on his nutritional discipline during fight camp versus his more relaxed approach outside of it.

Tsarukyan explained that during his training camps, he employs a personal chef to meticulously manage his diet. He stated, "When I am in camp, I have a chef… [For breakfast,] I eat eggs or yogurt with granola. All healthy. For lunch, pasta, and for dinner, fish or meat with vegetables." However, the strict regimen changes drastically in the off-season: "And when I am not in camp or on a diet, I eat what I want to eat. Right now I eat everything… Burgers, too. I like more meat, steaks, BBQ, fried chicken… I like Sushi as well."

Further into the discussion, Arman Tsarukyan revealed the significant weight he gains when not actively preparing for a fight, sometimes exceeding the middleweight division limit. This substantial increase makes the subsequent cut to his lightweight category of 155 pounds a considerable challenge.

He confessed, "In the off-season I weigh 86-87 kgs. It’s like 190 pounds. And then it’s difficult to come down, you have to cut so much weight. It is like 35 pounds."

Despite reaching nearly 190 pounds in the off-season, Tsarukyan, also known as "Ahalkalakets," has previously indicated a desire to move down to featherweight to face the two-time 145-pound champion, Alexander Volkanovski.

Currently, Tsarukyan does not have a UFC bout scheduled. He has made it clear that he wishes to serve as a backup for the highly anticipated lightweight title unification bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, scheduled for June 14. If he is not called upon as a replacement for this event, the 29-year-old Armenian expects his next fight announcement to be made following the White House event.