T.J. Dillashaw: Tsarukyan 'most well-conditioned athlete' in Calavitta's garage
· Yahoo Sports
T.J. Dillashaw raves about Arman Tsarukyan's cardio ahead of UFC 331.
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Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) meets Mauricio Ruffy (14-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in Saturday's co-main event (Paramount+) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The 29-year-old hopes to finally secure a title shot with a win.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dillashaw trains with Tsarukyan in California, and is siding with his teammate. However, he admits the odds are too lopsided.
"Arman wins it," Dillashaw said on the JAXXON PODCAST. "It's a tough fight, though. I don't think it should be a -300 favorite for Arman. I think it's a tougher fight than that just because Ruffy's a sniper on his feet. He stays long, he's creative. It's going to be tough, but Arman is just very strong, well-rounded. I think Arman gets the win, but it's a tough fight."
Tsarukyan has only fought once in 2024 and once in 2025. He has since kept active with grappling matches, and has extensively grown his social media presence by spending time with streamers and doing skits with Nina Drama, which Dillashaw isn't too fond of.
"I've been concerned about it because I've been around Arman," Dillashaw said. "I've been very impressed with how cerebral he is with his training and picking apart technique. He's more than anyone gave him credit for from looking from outside in. I was really impressed with him. But obviously I see online that he's everywhere doing all this like live streaming, and so I've been a little bit concerned about it."
With Tsarukyan vs. Ruffy being a five-round fight, Dillashaw sees Tsarukyan having a big advantage.
"He's a genetic freak, too, because he trains with (Sam) Calavitta and the things he's been able to do is just insane," Dillashaw said of Tsarukyan. "When he was training for his last fight, he was the most well-conditioned athlete that's ever been in Sam's garage. That's saying a lot – (over) world champions, gold medalists, breaking records."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: T.J. Dillashaw: Tsarukyan 'most well-conditioned athlete' in Calavitta's garage