Tsarukyan Agrees to Let N3on Corner Him at UFC 331 for $50K
Arman Tsarukyan has agreed to put streamer N3on in his corner at UFC 331 for $50,000, adding another cash deal to a return already tied to a $200,000 walkout bet. The No. 2 lightweight is turning fight week into a content partnership as much as a title-eliminator.
The agreement was captured in a clip of Tsarukyan and N3on together, first at a table and later in the back of a car. The streamer’s ask was simple: get him on the team for the Sept. 19 co-main event in Los Angeles.
N3on also wanted protection from the biggest body in Tsarukyan’s circle. “Just tell Khamzat not to hurt me, bro.”
That line is not a random joke. Khamzat Chimaev has been in Tsarukyan’s corner before, Tsarukyan has been in Chimaev’s, and the two have been sparring as Arman prepares for Mauricio Ruffy at Crypto.com Arena.
Chimaev is a former UFC middleweight champion who is now 15-1 after a split-decision loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 328. He is still ranked No. 1 at 185 pounds and remains a regular presence around Tsarukyan’s camp.
The $50,000 corner deal sits on top of money already attached to Tsarukyan’s entrance. On Ariel Helwani’s show this month, the Armenian said he and N3on had a $200,000 bet on his UFC 331 walkout song.
“N3on, the streamer, created the song ‘She Wanna Hang With an Indian,’ something like that, and we had a bet,” Tsarukyan said. “So for my next fight, I’m going to walk out to that.”
He then laid out the terms. If he uses the track, he gets $200,000. If he does not, he pays N3on.
That is a reversal of the usual fighter-brand arrangement. Tsarukyan, 23-3 and on a five-fight winning streak, is being paid to leave his familiar Armenian walkout behind for one night and use a streamer’s song instead.
He confirmed the same details to Helwani while discussing the Ruffy fight. The pair first shook on the walkout during a livestream months ago, when the price climbed from $100,000 to $200,000 and was locked in for a UFC bout only.
N3on has been around Tsarukyan’s camp before. The two have trained on camera, and the streamer has already talked about standing behind him on fight night.
A licensed corner is still a commission issue. California and the UFC control who is allowed on the official stool, so a handshake between a fighter and a streamer does not automatically make N3on a cornerman with a bucket and a microphone.
What Tsarukyan did confirm is the money and the access. For $50,000, he is willing to have N3on in his UFC 331 corner group, with Chimaev nearby enough that the streamer felt the need to ask not to get broken in training.
The fight itself is more serious than the side deals. Tsarukyan meets Ruffy in a five-round co-main event under Joshua Van vs. Alexandre Pantoja 2, and he has said UFC executive Hunter Campbell verbally promised him a lightweight title shot if he wins.
Ruffy has said he was given the same reward. The winner is expected to be next in line for champion Justin Gaethje.
Tsarukyan last fought on Nov. 22, 2025, submitting Dan Hooker in the second round in Qatar. Charles Oliveira was originally expected to meet him at UFC 331 before that rematch fell apart, and Ruffy was moved in as the replacement.
The extra $250,000 in streamer money does not change the assignment inside the cage. It does explain why Tsarukyan’s return is drawing an audience that does not usually follow lightweight title eliminators.
UFC 331 is set for Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. If the walkout bet is paid and the corner deal holds, N3on will be on the walk, in the building, and close enough to the stool that Tsarukyan’s first job that night may be keeping Khamzat off his new cornerman.