Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Who will have the better UFC career between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Khamzat Chimaev? That was a question in our UFC on ESPN 38 takeaways.
What mattered most at UFC on ESPN 38 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …
Check out who all earned a bonus for their performance at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – After a fun slate of 12 fights, the UFC once again strayed away from the norm and issued bonuses to a total of five fighters.
The main event of UFC on ESPN 38 was a hard-fought 25-minute battle between Mateusz Gamrot and Arman Tsarukyan. Both lightweight contenders competed in the first main event of their UFC careers, and their performances showed as they both wanted to make a statement. It was a high-paced, all-action bout that pushed the limits of both fighters. When it was all said and done, Gamrot earned the unanimous decision nod from the judges. For their efforts though, both men take home an extra paycheck for the Fight of the Night.
The promotion issued three Performance of the Night bonuses in addition to the FOTN. Check out who all earned the $50,000 award below.
Mateusz Gamrot won the first main event of his UFC career by picking up a unanimous decision over Arman Tsarukyan.
LAS VEGAS – The main event between [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] and Arman Tsarukyan was an incredible five rounds of action, proving exactly why this matchup deserved top billing of UFC on ESPN 38.
Both lightweight competitors entered the first main event of their UFC careers, with both men looking to make a statement on the big stage. When the dust settled after 25 minutes of high-paced action, the judges were unanimous in their decision, giving Gamrot (21-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) the nod over Tsarukyan (18-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC).
Both fighters looked to establish their game early in the fight. Gamrot tried to get a takedown after grabbing a single leg and lifting it high, but Tsarukyan somehow managed to stay on his feet. A few moments later, Tsarukyan completed a beautiful takedown, and a few wild scrambles for position soon followed.
The action remained fast-paced in the second round. After a few opening exchanges, a thunderous kick from Tsarukyan to the body of Gamrot echoed throughout the UFC Apex. Tsarukyan tried to bring the fight to the ground again but was beautifully reversed by Gamrot. Another powerful kick from Tsarukyan landed to the body, as he seemed to get the better of Gamrot in the first two rounds.
Turn your sound on for this kick 🔊
[ @ArmanUFC | #UFCVegas57 ] pic.twitter.com/jUIlTfaXnK
— UFC (@ufc) June 26, 2022
The powerful striking offense of Tsarukyan continued early in the third round. He opened with another thunderous kick to the body and cracked Gamrot with a right hand a few moments later. Gamrot once again grabbed hold of a single leg but was unable to bring the fight to the mat.
A few moments later, though, he was able to grab hold of Tsarukyan and work his way to the back. Gamrot was unable to secure the position, but Tsarukyan worked free before any serious damage or submission attempts would occur. They returned to exchanging hard strikes until the round came to a close.
Gamrot came out firing in the fourth round and landed some big shots early. A spinning back fist from Tsarukyan landed and sent Gamrot down, but he was quick to recover. Another hard kick to the body scored for Tsarukyan as Gamrot shot for and completed a takedown. Gamrot took the back of his opponent and hunted for a submission, but the fight would go to the final round.
Tsarukyan landed a beautiful outside leg kick to sweep Gamrot off his feet early. Gamrot returned to his feet and kept the pressure high, shooting in for a beautiful takedown a moment later. After controlling Tsarukyan on the mat, they returned to the feet and continued to let the strikes fly. Gamrot looked for one more takedown to close out the fight. Tsarukyan was able to reverse position in the final seconds and land a few punches before the final horn sounded on this very entertaining main event.
All three official judges scored the fight 48-47 for Gamrot, notching the unanimous decision victory for the Polish fighter.
During his post-fight interview, Gamrot made it clear who he wants to mix it up with next.
“Now, I want to fight with Justin Gaethje,” said during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “Justin Gaethje’s the most brutal guy in this division. I want to fight next with him.”
Yes please 🍿
[ @Gamer_MMA | #UFCVegas57 ] pic.twitter.com/MBGD2f9ibx
— UFC (@ufc) June 26, 2022
With the win, Gamrot makes it four straight after the lone setback of his professional career against Guram Kutateladze in 2020. Entering Saturday’s fight with consecutive stoppages against Scott Holtzman, Jeremy Stephens, and Diego Ferreira, the Poland-born fighter is now in a great position to take on the next level of competition in the lightweight division.
Tsarykyan entered holding the No. 14 spot in the USA TODAY SPORTS/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings, which likely means Gamrot will elevate from the honorable mentions to a ranked fighter in the next rankings update.
On the other side, the first UFC main event for Tsarukyan marks the second loss of his run with the promotion. He faltered in his UFC debut, dropping a unanimous decision to Islam Makhachev in 2019. Tsarukyan rebounded nicely as he went on to win five straight, including back-to-back stoppages against Christos Giagos and Joel Alvarez in his two previous outings.
Up-to-the-minute results of UFC on ESPN 38 include:
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\See the top Twitter reactions to Mateusz Gamrot’s win over Arman Tsarukyan in the UFC on ESPN 38 main event.
[autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] secured the first main event win of his octagon tenure on Saturday when he beat [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] at UFC on ESPN 38
Gamrot (21-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) extended his winning streak to for consecutive fights with a unanimous decision win over Tsarukyan (18-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the lightweight matchup, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Gamrot’s victory over Tsarukyan at UFC on ESPN 38.
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Analyzing Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 38 odds and lines between Arman Tsarukyan vs. Mateusz Gamrot, with MMA picks, tips and predictions.
In a lightweight bout in main event, Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot meet Saturday at UFC on ESPN 38 – also known as UFC Vegas 57 – at the UFC’s APEX Facility. Below, we analyze the UFC on ESPN 38 Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The prelims can be viewed on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET and the main card on ESPN/ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET.
Tsarukyan takes the walk to the octagon with a 2-inch reach advantage, although he does give up 3 inches in height.
After losing his UFC debut to Islam Makhachev in April 2019, he has posted 5 consecutive wins, with 3 by way of unanimous decision, and the past 2 via KO/TKO. He won his last bout, in Feb. 2022, with a 2nd-round win over Joel Alvarez.
Gamrot owns a slight 3.79-to-3.75 significant strikes landed per minute advantage, although Tsarukyan is far more accurate at 61.6% to just 50.0%.
Gamrot heads into this main event bout looking to stay hot. After losing his UFC debut against Guram Kutateladze by split decision in Oct. 2020, he has rattled off 3 straight victories via stoppage. The most recent bout was a 2nd-round KO/TKO win over Diego Ferreira in Dec. 2021. Two of the wins were by way of knockout, with the other a 1st-round submission of Jeremy Stephens in July 2021, showing his immense versatility.
Watch this card with ESPN+ by signing up here.
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:30 a.m. ET.
[tipico]
Records: Tsarukyan (18-2-0) | Gamrot (20-1-0)
Tsarukyan (-280) will cost more than 2 1/2 times your potential return. That’s risky, especially against Gamrot (+210), who has been on a roll lately, too.
This one figures to go long into the night, and should make side bettors nervous for its entirety. In the end, TSARUKYAN BY POINTS (+145) will be the play, snapping his modest 2-bout run with a stoppage.
OVER 4.5 ROUNDS (-145) is a good play if you’d like a little bit of wiggle room in the event of a late Round 5 finish. Yes (-117): Fight to go the distance isn’t that much less, so just stick with the Over. This fight should end via unanimous decision in favor of Tsarukyan.
Visit MMA Junkie for more fight news and analysis.
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The main event is set for Saturday’s UFC return to Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – The main event is set for Saturday’s UFC return to Las Vegas.
[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) both made weight without issue for the UFC on ESPN 38 main event Friday at the UFC Apex. The same venue hosts Saturday’s card on ESPN.
Tsarukyan and Gamrot were the first two fighters to the scale in the two-hour official weigh-ins window, eliminating any drama for the headliner. Both fighters weighed in at 156 pounds, the non-title lightweight limit.
Check out the video highlights from their trips to the scale in the video above.
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Arman Tsarukyan says no names at 155 will be off limits if he wins the UFC on ESPN 38 main event.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] expects his career to change completely after Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 38 main event.
Tsarukyan (18-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) gets his first octagon headliner on Saturday when he meets former KSW champ Mateusz Gamrot (20-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in a key lightweight fight at the UFC Apex. The main card airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2.
The additional spotlight has been something Tsarukyan has been working toward since his short-notice loss to Islam Makhachev in his promotional debut in April 2019. He brings a five-fight winning streak in the bout, and said he’s prepared to shine and announce his arrival as a genuine title threat.
“After this fight it’s going to be very different,” Tsarukyan told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 38 media day. “Everybody is going to talk about me. After this fight I’m going to be contender.”
Tsarukyan was beating the drum for a top 10 opponent after consecutive finishes of Joel Alvarez and Christos Giagos, but he couldn’t get any of the original opponents he wanted. Gamrot, meanwhile, was takin the same approach to land a marquee name. The two surging names were then forced to look at each other to keep active.
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That was no problem for Tsarukyan, who said he intends to use the main event platform to make an example of Gamrot and show why he should get the biggest fights.
“This fight is going to be a finish,” Tsarukyan said. “I’m going to finish Gamrot and it’s going to be good fight. After this fight I’m going to talk a lot about my division, guys who don’t want to fight with me. And after this fight they cannot (not) accept fight with me.
“After this fight I should be top five, probably. No. 6 or No. 5. You guys gotta help me after this fight, talk about me a lot. I beat Joel Alvarez but my rank didn’t go very high. He’s good fighter, I beat him very easy. I hope after this fight I gotta be in top five because Gamrot, he’s a good fighter. I’ll stop him and I’ll get in top five then after this fight I want to be contender and I want to get fight from top five guys.”
The betting odds for UFC on ESPN 38 have Tsarukyan as a solid favorite over Gamrot. He thinks that analysis is apt, and intends to show it when the pair are locked inside the cage.
“He’s good fighter,” Tsarukyan said. “Tough fighter, but he’s not on my level. I’m in different level and I want to show this weekend.
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Neil Magny can break Georges St-Pierre’s record and be the first to 20 welterweight wins if he beats Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC on ESPN 38.
The UFC returns to its home base of the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday with UFC on ESPN 38, which has a main card that airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN2.
A matchup of surging lightweight contenders is featured in the main event. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] (18-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will look to break through into the next tier of the division when they meet in a five-round bout.
For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the 12-fight lineup, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN 38.
Lightweight prospects Mateusz Gamrot and Arman Tsarukyan will headline their first UFC show.
Lightweight prospects [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] and [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] will headline their first UFC show.
Gamrot’s fight with Tsarukyan has been promoted to the main event of UFC Fight Night on June 25, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. A person with knowledge of the matchup confirmed the news to MMA Junkie after an initial report by Eurosport NL.
Gamrot (20-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) has finished three straight opponents since suffering his first-career loss to Guram Kutateladze in his UFC debut in October 2020. The former two-division KSW champ is coming off a second-round TKO of Diego Ferreira this past December.
His American Top Team teammate Tsarukyan (18-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) has also been on a roll after dropping his promotional debut to Islam Makhachev. The 25-year-old has won five in a row and most recently scored back-to-back finishes of Christos Giagos and Joel Alvarez.
The UFC’s June 25 lineup currently includes:
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Rising lightweight contenders Mateusz Gamrot and Arman Tsarukyan will get their wish.
[autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] and [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] will get their wish.
After angling for a fight on social media, Gamrot (20-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Tsarukyan (18-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) have verbally agreed to a matchup on June 25 in an event expected to be a Fight Night card likely at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. In the Cage was first to report the news Thursday.
Gamrot has won three straight since dropping his UFC debut to Guram Kutateladze in October 2020. The former two-division KSW champion is coming off consecutive finishes of Scott Holtzman, Jeremy Stephens and Carlos Diego Ferreira to earn a spot in the UFC lightweight rankings.
Tsarukyan also hasn’t lost since dropping his promotional debut. Since losing to Islam Makhachev in April 2019, Tsarukyan has won five straight, most recently back-to-back Performance of the Night TKO finishes of Christos Giagos and Joel Alvarez.
With the addition, the UFC’s June 25 lineup now includes:
