Tsarukyan denies rumors that he was afraid of Makhachev before the rematch

“How could I have been afraid of Islam before the rematch if I fought him for the first time on short notice at 22 years old? By then, Makhachev had had six or seven fights in the UFC. I was called two or three weeks before the tournament itself. I made weight and fought Makhachev. It was a pretty close fight. How could I be afraid now when I’ve been preparing for a rematch against him for six years? Even if I lost, I would have shown a good fight, made money, and made my name more famous,” Sportskeeda quotes Tsarukyan as saying.