Eddie Hearn says Arman Tsarukyan breakfast was chance meeting, not a signing

Eddie Hearn says he has not signed Arman Tsarukyan. The Matchroom boss wrote on Instagram that they were simply staying at the same hotel and met for breakfast, MMA Mania reported on Friday, November 6. A photo of the pair had spread online on October 30.

"Everyone went crazy for this," Hearn wrote, before explaining: "We were just staying in the same hotel randomly and arranged to have some breakfast together." Tsarukyan hasn't commented publicly on the meeting or the denial, as far as we could find.

How it started

Hearn shared the picture of the two of them at an outdoor table in Marbella, Spain, according to MMA Sucka and SPORTbible. SPORTbible said Hearn was there to meet Anthony Joshua ahead of Joshua's December fight with Tyson Fury. At the time, nobody had explained why Tsarukyan was in town.

Fans jumped to a signing because Hearn has been adding UFC names. His Matchroom Talent Agency launched in March 2026 with Tom Aspinall as its first client, per MMA Sucka. Ian Machado Garry joined on June 24, and Paulo Costa also lets Hearn handle some promotional work, according to MMA Mania. Hearn has said the agency won't negotiate fight contracts directly with the UFC, per MMA Sucka; Garry's deal covers his commercial work.

MMA Mania points out that Hearn kept the Garry deal quiet until the UFC announced Garry vs. Makhachev. This time he posted the meeting himself. We take the denial at face value. Posting a photo with an unsigned target would be an odd way to do business for someone who kept his last UFC signing under wraps until it was done.

Where Tsarukyan stands

Tsarukyan is 24-3, 11-2 in the UFC, and has won six in a row, per Wikipedia. His latest was a first-round elbow knockout of Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 in Los Angeles on September 19, which earned Performance of the Night. Charles Oliveira was his original opponent but withdrew to mourn teammate Allan Nascimento.

He was booked to face Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt at UFC 311 in January 2025 but pulled out with a back injury. In November 2025 the UFC chose Paddy Pimblett over him to fight Justin Gaethje for the interim belt at UFC 324 in January, according to theScore. Tsarukyan reacted on social media: "make it make sense."

He has been a reliable favourite. He closed as the favourite in all 10 of his UFC fights with odds on our fighter page, and won nine. A 1-unit stake on him at every one of those past closing prices would have returned +1.54 units, about 15% per fight. He closed at −315 against Ruffy, and his only priced loss came at −255 against Mateusz Gamrot in 2022.

What comes next

Hearn says there is no deal. Tsarukyan's next fight depends on Gaethje, now the undisputed champion after beating Ilia Topuria in June at UFC Freedom 250, Sherdog reported. Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski wants a superfight with Gaethje, and Dana White has said he's open to it. White told The Jim Rome Show that the decision sits with Gaethje:

"He's going to have to pull the trigger one way or the other, see if he wants to retire or continue to fight."

Volkanovski has said Tsarukyan deserves the next shot and that he'd fight him for a vacant belt if Gaethje retires, according to Sherdog. Tsarukyan's coach at American Top Team, Marcos da Matta, told Sherdog that February or March is a realistic return, BoxingNews reported. Asked about Gaethje or Volkanovski, he said: "For me, as long as it's a title fight, either one would be perfect."