Dana White ranks Arman Tsarukyan among UFC’s top five stars despite no UFC fights since November 2025

UFC president Dana White placed Arman Tsarukyan among the five biggest stars in the promotion during an interview this week. White listed Jon Jones, Sean O'Malley, Merab Dvalishvili, Islam Makhachev and Tsarukyan in that group. Tsarukyan, 29, has not competed inside the Octagon since November 2025, when he defeated Dan Hooker in the UFC Qatar main event.

He has remained active by competing in Real American Freestyle Wrestling while waiting for a lightweight title shot. White credited Tsarukyan's increased visibility to his work with online personality Nina Drama. “If you look at the people that have been built, it is impossible to deny that Nina Drama has helped build some of these guys, from Merab to Sean Strickland, Arman, these guys are smart, they lean into the relationship with her,” White said.

Tsarukyan now has six million Instagram followers, a total that exceeds those of O'Malley and Strickland. ” Tsarukyan is scheduled to face Colby Covington on Saturday evening at RAF 11 in an inaugural title fight for a crossover belt.