Arman Tsarukyan believes Ilia Topuria would be an excellent addition to the UFC lightweight division.

Before Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC), who challenged Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) for the 155-pound title in the UFC 311 headliner on January 18 in Inglewood, Calif. ( ESPN+). Pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+), reigning featherweight champion Topuria has hinted at a change in the division.

For Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), changing weight classes in his career seems inevitable, but the question remains whether it will happen in the short or long term.

With Tsarukyan potentially on the verge of capturing the lightweight title, he believes Topuria, with whom he shares Georgian roots, would make one of the traditionally most decorated weight classes in MMA history even better.

“He should move to 155 because he’s a big name,” Tsarukyan told MMA Junkie on Friday. “As much as we have big names in our department, it’s better for us. We will make more money and our weight class will be famous. It’s still famous – 155 is one of the best in my opinion, has one of the best fighters because of Conor (McGregor), Khabib (Nurmagomedov), Islam, (Dustin) Poirier, (Justin) Gaethje – there are so many big names. If Ilia switches to 155, that will be good for us.”

Whether a duel with Topuria could happen in the future remains to be seen, but for now Tsarukyan is focused on the task at hand.

He has Makhachev ahead of him, who is No. 1 in the official UFC rankings, and it’s a repeat of the first loss of Tsarukyan’s career. He suffered a unanimous decision loss in his short-notice Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 149 in April 2019, and Tsarukyan is eager to show his growth by capturing the belt.

“Right now we are the best lightweights, I am No. 1 and he is the champion,” Tsarukyan said. “I’m so versatile and I know how to wrestle and he knows too. It will be a very interesting fight. If I were a fan, I would like to see my fight.”

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