Arman Tsarukyan put in more work than ever before as he took advantage of his first chance at gold in Saturday’s UFC 311 headliner.

Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) will return to action against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in the main event at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. (ESPN+ pay-per-play). compete. view, ESPNews, ESPN+), and it’s a moment he’s been waiting years to arrive.

The clash was originally scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi last October, but Makhachev needed extra time to recover from a hand injury. However, Tsarukyan has spent the entire time training methodically with American Top Team in Florida and elsewhere.

“I have experience, but when you have a title shot, sometimes you want to do a little more than what you’re used to,” Tsarukyan told MMA Junkie. “My trainers tried to stop me from doing it so I could feel good and not feel overtrained.”

Tsarukyan has known since his split decision win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in April that he would face Makhachev next. It’s his ideal scenario because not only does Tsarukyan get a chance to capture the 155-pound belt, but he can also avenge his first Octagon loss.

Makhachev, 33, defeated Tsarukyan, 28, by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 149 in April 2019, and both men are eager to dispel the competitive nature of this fight and prove they are clearly superior.

Tsarukyan does not lack motivation, and this shows that he has used it effectively. Photos of his body posted on social media have gone viral and are among the most viewed content he has ever shared, and Tsarukyan said it was all a product of knowing what that moment meant.

“I have been training since May after the fight against Charles Oliveira and I heard that I will fight for the title,” Tsarukyan said. “When you’re fighting for the title, you’re so motivated and you want to do everything right. I always train hard and now I’m just ready to rock and roll.”

Tsarukyan, No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings, said no stone was left unturned during his training camp. He’s at his best for Makhachev at No. 1 and has invested almost every free minute to ensure he leaves UFC 311 with the belt.

“(My hardest training day) was in the mountains in Russia,” Tsarukyan said. “We trained for three and a half weeks. I have a freestyle wrestling coach. He’s like an old school coach. You have to stop him. You have to say, “Coach, it’s time for dinner.” We could start at 5 a.m. and finish at 8 p.m. just because we miss dinner and then we miss dinner.

“If there is no dinner, we train until 10 p.m. because he likes his job and is a good coach. They used to train like this, but now the new generation can’t handle this training.”

For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s UFC 311 event hub.