During episode seven of Brandon Moreno’s podcast Un Cafe Conmigo, Moreno and guest Chito Vera turned their attention to Arman Tsarukyan’s growing presence on social media and his push into content creation during his recent stretch of inactivity from UFC competition.
The topic came up after the pair discussed training sessions with Tsarukyan.
“You’re so close to Arman recently,” Moreno said. “What do you think of him as the character he’s created recently? I mean, social media, strea ming. The truth is he’s done a complete job.”
Vera revealed that he had appeared in some of Tsarukyan’s content but admitted he never had the motivation to fully commit to that lifestyle himself.
“I, for example, have done a couple of those str3ams,” Vera said. “He once called me, came to my gym. I said, ‘Oh, come on over, let’s do it.'”
While he enjoys talking and interacting with people, Vera explained that the constant content grind isn’t for him.
“Talking isn’t the hard part for me,” Vera said. “I can sit there and talk all day. But when they reach out and ask if I want to do another stream, I’m usually like, ‘No thanks. I don’t have the energy for it, and I don’t want to spend my time on that.'”
Vera then shared his perspective on how Tsarukyan’s media strategy developed, suggesting it was a calculated move after circumstances kept him from competing.
“Arman basically said, ‘Okay, I made a mistake, I got injured, whatever happened happened,'” Vera said. “After that, it felt like the UFC put him on ice for a while.”
According to Vera, Tsarukyan responded by focusing on growing his profile outside the cage.
“And he said, ‘Okay, I’m going to make myself the most famous.’ And he succeeded. It’s everywhere. The strategy worked.”
Moreno wondered whether Tsarukyan had fully embraced the influencer role.
He asked, “He started off like everybody else, posting content here and there, and now he’s turned into a full-blown influencer?”
Vera quickly agreed and pointed to the results.
“Yeah, sure, dude,” Vera replied. “Two or three months go by, and now he’s the hottest guy in the UFC, no controversy, just carrying a camera everywhere. We’re training, there are eight cameras in the gym.”
The conversation then shifted to Moreno’s own experiences with content opportunities. The former flyweight champion admitted he has never felt comfortable creating that type of content on a regular basis.
“I know a lot of photographers and content creators,” Moreno said. “People I’ve worked with through sponsorships are always asking if I want to film a day-in-the-life video or create content.”
Despite the opportunities, Moreno said the process feels unnatural to him.
“And I don’t really have the nerve to walk around with a camera, it feels weird,” he explained. “If it’s a close friend of mine who’s a good photographer, then sure, go ahead and take my pictures, but when they tell me, ‘Hey, stand here on the wall,’ I’m like, ‘That’s it, bro.’ I feel kind of weird.”
At the same time, Moreno acknowledged that Tsarukyan has figured out how to make the approach work.
“But Arman knew how to do it,” Moreno said. “And from what I understand, he’s making a ton of money now. He gets paid because it’s all hype.”
Moreno also pointed out the financial benefits that come with constant visibility.
“Brands see you everywhere, they want you all over them,” he said. “And you’re like, ‘Damn, I mean, without taking so many hits, it makes you want to say, I want to give it a try.'”
Even from the outside, Moreno believes Tsarukyan’s strategy has clearly paid off.
“It’s wild,” Moreno said. “The guy already has money, but if you look at his social media, it seems like he’s making even more. Then he goes out and competes in RAF and knocks out guys. Everything seems to be working for him right now.”
Later in the discussion, Moreno made a point of separating Tsarukyan’s online persona from the version of him he encounters in training at the UFC Performance Institute.
“You see him making a big deal out of it on social media,” Moreno said, “but when I’ve run into him at the PI, he’s super, super friendly. He’s a really, really good guy.”
Moreno then described how helpful Tsarukyan has been whenever they’ve trained together.
“What’s more, I wrote to him and said, ‘Hey, could I join the training at such and such time?'” Moreno recalled.
Moreno said Tsarukyan often goes out of his way to help direct him toward useful training partners.
“After we’re done, he’ll usually point me toward another group and say, ‘Those guys will give you a hard round,'” Moreno said. “He’s always helping people find the right training partners and get good work in.”
