Arman Tsarukyan isn’t currently scheduled for a UFC bout, but that hasn’t kept him out of the spotlight.
The lightweight contender, ranked number two, has been making the rounds on a media tour that’s taken him to some unexpected places recently.
He’s stayed active in the cage as well, picking up his first win of the year with a dominant performance against Lance Palmer at Real American Freestyle.
Outside the UFC, Tsarukyan has shown no hesitation in calling out potential opponents and looking for new challenges wherever they might be found.
On Thursday night, he found himself on the receiving end of an interesting invitation to step into action against one of the sport’s top names.
Mikey Musumeci eyes Tsarukyan after Tom Hardy call-out
Tom Hardy won’t be stepping into a grappling match with Arman Tsarukyan any time soon, citing a packed filming schedule that keeps him busy until March.
Hype FC posted screenshots of their conversations with the actor, who recently earned his brown belt in jiu-jitsu.
While Muhammed Mokaev has suggested he was lined up to face Mikey Musumeci, the UFC BJJ champion appears to have someone else in mind.
‘Darth Rigatoni’ retained his bantamweight title on Thursday night, submitting Shay Montague in the second round.
Speaking to UFC News after the fight, Musumeci made it clear he wants to grapple — not fight — Tsarukyan. “He’s incredible but he called out my friend Tom Hardy in a grappling match and my friend Tom Hardy is an actor… I just don’t like that he did that,” Musumeci said at UFC BJJ 5.
“He could grapple a grappler. I’m lighter than him so I’ll just go up and face him. That would be a really fun match for everyone… Send me location.”
While there has been some talk about Tsarukyan facing off against Hardy, it doesn’t seem like an official call-out happened.
How close Arman Tsarukyan came to fighting Tom Hardy
Arman Tsarukyan’s recent draw with Shara Magomedov could have looked very different had the fight with Tom Hardy gone ahead as initially discussed.
“Yeah, I got that offer, but he couldn’t come because he was filming something. I don’t know, he’s filming, he’s busy. So it didn’t happen, but maybe in the future – why not? I’m down for everybody, for big names.”
The fight with Hardy may not have happened but you get the sense that it won’t be going away any time soon.
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