Arman Tsarukyan is all set to make his mark. He’s aiming for an unforgettable face-off against Charles Oliveira. His goal? To secure his spot as the No. 1 lightweight contender.
Tsarukyan (21-3) and Oliveria (34-9) are on the cards for a thrilling match. The venue? The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event? None other than the UFC 300.
Oliveira is known for his submission skills. Tsarukyan, on the other hand, has a wrestling background. But “Ahalkalakets” thinks the fight doesn’t have to end up on the ground.
Tsarukyan shared his thoughts with Daniel Cormier. He said, “If you know wrestling and jiu-jitsu, how to defend, it’s a completely different game.” He added that if the fight doesn’t involve ground and pound, Oliveira might have a chance at submissions. But, if punches are thrown, the game changes.
He explained, “When you punch someone, he can’t think about like, ‘Oh, I got to get his arm,’ or whatever. He’s got to defend himself; you know? That’s why it’s so difficult. Especially with high-level fighters right now.”
Tsarukyan is confident about his strategy. He believes that it’s almost impossible to choke high-level fighters in the first two rounds. He’s aiming to knock Oliveira out in the first round. He wants to prove that he deserves the title fight.
The Tsarukyan vs. Oliveira match was decided after Islam Makhachev declined rematches against both. He chose to fight Justin Gaethje instead. The UFC 300 match is seen as a title eliminator. Makhachev plans to fight Gaethje in June and the UFC 300 winner in November.
But Tsarukyan is not happy with Makhachev’s plans. He thinks the champ should wait for the UFC 300 results before scheduling a summer fight.
Tsarukyan stated, “I think he should wait [for] us, because we are going to be contender No. 1.” He hopes that the summer fight won’t be booked and they’ll wait for the UFC 300 results. He’s confident about his win and is ready to fight Makhachev.
He added, “After, when I win, I’m going to fight with Islam, and then we can talk about Gaethje. I feel like we are next and Gaethje has to wait [for] us. Gaethje has to wait [until] October. OK, we’re going to fight for the title in the summer.”