Khamzat Chimaev’s Fight Camp Turns Into PUBG Lobby After Arman Tsarukyan Shows Up
Arman Tsarukyan’s latest story from Khamzat Chimaev’s camp shows a UFC champion who can grind through camp and still carve out time for video games during fight week preparations.
In a recent clip shared by Tsarukyan and reposted by Red Corner MMA, the lightweight contender explained that Chimaev had invited him out to help with camp, promising it would be “fun” and “very fun.”
When Tsarukyan arrived, he filmed Chimaev and members of the team spending the evening playing PUBG: Battlegrounds together, laughing in the background as he told the story. The footage, originally posted on Tsarukyan’s Instagram story and then circulated on X, shows Chimaev relaxed on the couch with a controller in hand while the group plays the popular battle‑royale title. Red Corner MMA captioned the repost to note that even in the middle of camp, Chimaev “still makes time to game.”
Arman Tsarukyan Walks Into Khamzat Chimaev’s PUBG Fight Camp
All of this is happening with Chimaev locked in for the biggest stretch of his middleweight run so far, a first title defence against former champion Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on 9 May at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The unbeaten champion sits at 15‑0 and is coming off a dominant decision over Dricus du Plessis to claim the belt, while Strickland brings a 30‑7 record back to the same arena where he outpointed Paulo Costa and recently bounced back with a stoppage of Anthony Hernandez to earn another crack at gold.
The matchup has extra spice because of their history of sparring at Xtreme Couture and years of interviews and social clips where both men have taken shots at each other.
Over the years, Chimaev has been open about using video games as his main way to switch off between sessions, so Tsarukyan walking into a PUBG night in camp is very on brand. In past interviews and fan clips, he has talked about playing Dota 2 since his teens and grinding Counter‑Strike servers, while various MMA pages have listed his go‑to titles as PC strategy games, PUBG, CS:GO and Dota 2. Ahead of UFC 273, he even joked in an interview that he loved playing PUBG on his computer and showed up at a press event more focused on his phone game than on a reporter’s question.
The clip lands against the backdrop of a real working relationship that has developed between Tsarukyan and Chimaev over the past couple of years. Tsarukyan has previously spoken about travelling to join Chimaev’s camps and helping him prepare for high‑profile middleweight fights, including the build‑up to clashes with Dricus du Plessis and Robert Whittaker.
In an earlier interview, Tsarukyan described plans to roll with Chimaev on the ground, warm him up for sessions, and share knowledge during camp before flying with him to the United States for fight week. Chimaev, for his part, has publicly explained why he values Tsarukyan as a training partner, pointing to the Armenian‑Russian contender’s pace, wrestling, and ability to push hard rounds in the room.
The PUBG evening fits with other glimpses that have emerged from Chimaev’s recent camps, which show a mix of heavy work and attempts to manage his energy across long training blocks. Behind‑the‑scenes videos from his preparation have highlighted purpose‑built facilities, including a UFC‑sized cage, a sauna, and sessions split between striking gyms and performance centers where he lifts and conditions.
