Tag: Arman Tsarukyan

Video: Making sense of the UFC’s crowded lightweight title picture

Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses where Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev fit into the UFC’s middleweight title picture.

Arguably the most stacked division in the UFC is once again dealing with a logjam of top contenders looking for their shot at gold.

A couple of big matchups have recently been made official, with both having potential No. 1 contender implications. While UFC CEO Dana White labeled the UFC 300 fight between former champ [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] and [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] as the No. 1 contender fight, another matchup at UFC 299 between [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Benoit Saint-Denis[/autotag] could have a say.

While the champ [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] recently said he wants to fight [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] in June, nothing has been solidified just yet.

What is the best way to shake out the title picture? Should Makhachev wait until after UFC 300 to book his next title fight or should Gaethje get the next crack at the champ?

That was a topic of discussion on the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” with panelists Danny Segura, Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

Watch the video segment above, or the complete Jan. 8 episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

Arman Tsarukyan eyes first-round KO of Charles Oliveira at UFC 300, wants Islam Makhachev title fight in June

Arman Tsarukyan plans to finish Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 to make an undeniable case for a title fight against Islam Makhachev.

[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] is knocking on the door of a shot at the UFC lightweight title, and is planning on making an undeniable statement to secure his opportunity.

At UFC 300, the promotion’s big milestone event on April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Tsarukyan (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) will face former champion Charles Oliveira in what UFC CEO Dana White has labeled as a No. 1 contender fight. Both are coming off first-round finishes of Beneil Dariush, and Tsarukyan is planning on doing the same to Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC).

On paper, the fight appears to be a clash of styles between Tsarukyan’s freestyle wrestling and Oliveira’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu. However, the Armenian lightweight told Daniel Cormier and Chris Weidman that he’s not necessarily worried about what “Do Bronx” presents on the ground in an MMA fight.

“If you know wrestling and jiu-jitsu, how to defend, it’s a completely different game,” Tsarukyan said in an interview on Cormier’s YouTube channel. “If we’re going to do jiu-jitsu without ground and pound, of course, he can maybe get any submissions. But 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.

“To choke someone is so difficult, especially when I train with high-level fighters. To choke them you’ve got to beat them for 15-20 minutes, and then when he gets tired, you can finish. First two rounds, it’s almost impossible to choke high-level fighters. … I believe that I can do that in the first round, and I want to show everybody I’m the best here. My goal is to go there, and knock him out in the first round to show everybody I deserve that title fight.”

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev recently laid out his own 2024 timeline, which included a plan to fight Justin Gaethje in June, followed by the winner of Tsarukyan vs. Oliveira in November. Tsarukyan is not on board with that plan, and thinks the champ should wait until UFC 300 before booking a fight in the summer.

“I think he should wait (for) us, because we are going to be contender No. 1,” Tsarukyan said. “Hopefully they’re not going to book that fight for the summer, and wait (for) us. 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. Gathje has to wait (until) October. OK, we’re going to fight for the title in the summer.”

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24 fights on our 2024 MMA wish list: Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones (still), Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3, more

Here’s MMA Junkie’s 24-fight wishlist for the new year.

2023 didn’t disappoint in terms of great MMA action, and 2024 looks just as promising, if not more.

With 2024 underway, there’s a new year of fresh possibilities for dream matchups across the MMA landscape, from the UFC to Bellator, PFL, RIZIN FF, ONE Championship and more.

For 2023, unfortunately, only four of the 23 dream fights MMA Junkie wished for came to fruition. We’re not deterred, however, and are back with another slate of 24 matchups we aspire to see in 2024.

Below, we present MMA Junkie’s wish list of 24 fights we’d like to see in 2024.

Charles Oliveira listed as slight underdog for UFC 300 fight vs. Arman Tsarukyan

Arman Tsarukyan is facing a tough test against former UFC champ Charles Oliveira – or maybe that should be phrased the other way around.

[autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] is facing a tough test against former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] – or maybe that should be phrased the other way around considering the UFC 300 betting odds.

Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) and Tsarukyan (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) are set to meet at the UFC’s milestone event April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. According to UFC CEO Dana White, the fight is a No. 1 contender’s matchup, with the winner earning a shot at injured 155-pound champ Islam Makhachev sometime this summer.

Oliveira, No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings, is expected to have his hands full against No. 5 Tsarukyan, according to oddsmakers, with Draftkings listing “Do Bronx” as a slight +140 underdog and Tsarukyan a -166 favorite. This means a $100 bet on Oliveira could net $140 if he wins, while a $166 bet would be needed to earn $100 off a Tsarukyan win.

Oliveira, 34, got back in the win colulmn in a big way this past June when he took out Beneil Dariush with a first-round knockout at UFC 289. Oliveira won the vacant lightweight title against Michael Chandler in 2021, then defended it against Dustin Poirier later that year. But he missed weight for a title defense against Justin Gaethje and was stripped of the belt. Against Islam Makhachev in October 2022, he tapped to an arm-triangle choke in the second round trying to recapture the title. It was Oliveira’s first loss in nearly five years.

The 27-year-old Tsarukyan has won three consecutive fights, most recently finishing Dariush in 64 seconds for a vicious TKO Performance of the Night bonus to build on a stoppage of Joaquim Silva and a decision over Damir Ismagulov.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Jan. 1-7)

All the UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 1-7.

Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan No. 1 contender fight set for UFC 300

Former champion Charles Oliveira’s path back to the lightweight title will have to go through a rising Armenian standout.

Former champion [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag]’s path back to the lightweight title will have to go through a rising Armenian standout.

Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) will return at UFC 300 in April to take on [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in a No. 1 contenders bout. UFC CEO Dana White made the announcement late Sunday on Instagram.

UFC 300 takes place April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and ESPN+.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C103uBYLIQ9

Oliveira got back in the win colulmn in a big way this past June when he took out Beneil Dariush with a first-round knockout at UFC 289. Oliveira won the vacant lightweight title against Michael Chandler in 2021, then defended it against Dustin Poirier later that year. But he missed weight for a title defense against Justin Gaethje and was stripped of the belt.

Against Islam Makhachev in October 2022, he tapped to an arm-triangle choke in the second round trying to recapture the title. It was his first loss in nearly five years.

The 27-year-old Tsarukyan has won three straight fights. In December, he took out Dariush in 64 seconds for a vicious TKO Performance of the Night bonus to build on a stoppage of Joaquim Silva and a decision over Damir Ismagulov.

With the addition, the UFC 300 card now includes:

  • Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic
  • Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling
  • Cody Brundage vs. Bo Nickal
  • Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for December: Josh Emmett flattens Bryce Mitchell

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from December 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from December 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for December.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Nominees

Daniel Cormier: Islam Makhachev right not to want rematches with Charles Oliveira or Arman Tsarukyan next

Daniel Cormier explains why he agrees with UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for wanting fresh challenges.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] explains why he agrees with UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] for wanting fresh challenges.

When asked if he’d rather run things back with [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] or [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] next, Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) said he prefers a new challenge in the form of “BMF” champion Justin Gaethje.

Although Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) and Tsarukyan (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) are top contenders, Makhachev has already beaten them both. But it’s something Makhachev said about his fighting future that makes Cormier think he’s right for not being keen on rematches.

“We’re missing why Islam says he doesn’t want rematches and why I think he’s right, if I’m being honest,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “That probably comes as no surprise to you guys because you’re going to say that I’m always biased toward Islam and everything, but I think he’s right. I’m going to tell you why I think he’s right for the simple fact that when the reporter then followed up with Islam, ‘Can you see yourself doing this until you’re 40?’ Islam said, ’40? No. Maybe a couple more years.’

“That’s why I think it’s right that he doesn’t want to fight rematches because if he’s only going to be around for a couple more years, do we want to see him continue to recycle opponents or do we want to see him in there with different people time and time again? That’s why I think he’s right. He said only a couple more years of fighting, and if we have learned anything, Khabib (Nurmagomedov) walked away at the height of his popularity, at the height of his dominance, at the height of the sport, and never looked back.”

Makhachev submitted Oliveira to claim the vacant lightweight belt at UFC 280. He defeated Tsarukyan by decision in April 2019, in what was Tsarukyan’s octagon debut.

Tsarukyan has since gone 8-1, whereas Oliveira rebounded with a first-round TKO of Beneil Dariush at UFC 289. Cormier isn’t saying that they’re not worthy of a title shot, but he prefers seeing Makhachev clearing out the division.

“When you hear Makhachev saying ‘I’ve got a couple years left,’ do we really want to see him fighting guys like Charles, who has proven to be the second best in the division, at least, according to their first fight?” Cormier said. “Or Arman Tsarukyan who he fought a long time ago, who has proven to be one of the best lightweights in the world? Do we want to see that, especially when guys don’t fight as frequently as they used to? If Makhachev is fighting twice a year and he’s fighting for only a couple more years, that’s four fights.

“Or would we like to see him fight a Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler maybe, Mateusz Gamrot or one of the other great young challengers that are coming up that we haven’t seen him in there with before? Now, I’m not saying I’m not going to tap into a fight with him and ‘Do Bronx’ (Oliveira) or with him and Tsarukyan. I’m not saying that those guys are not warranted a title championship opportunity if they are giving it to them. They have earned that. For me, I’m like, well, if it’s not going to be a long time, then maybe we should see if he’s the guy that can keep that next wave of guys from dethroning him.”

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UFC on ESPN 52 medical suspensions: Headliners, Bobby Green among 12 fighters facing 180 days off

A dozen UFC Austin competitors including Arman Tsarukyan, Beneil Dariush, and Bobby Green have been given lengthy suspensions by Texas.

UFC on ESPN 52 took place Saturday at Moody Center in Austin, Texas and featured a dozen fights.

Of the 24 competitors on the card, 12 fighters were suspended 180 days due to injuries sustained in their bouts, according to documentation from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), the commissioning body that oversaw the event.

Among those who received the lengthiest suspensions are both sides of the main event, Arman Tsarukyan and Beneil Dariush, as well as co-main eventer Bobby Green.

The TDLR does not reveal injury specifics, just the duration of the suspensions. Fighters are permitted to return to competition prior to the conclusion of their suspension durations should they be cleared by a doctor beforehand.

Check out the 24 medical suspension durations below:

Islam Makhachev’s coach: Arman Tsarukyan impressive, but Justin Gaethje or Charles Oliveira likely next

Javier Mendez believes Arman Tsarukyan has earned a UFC lightweight title shot, but there are people ahead of him.

American Kickboxing Academy coach [autotag]Javier Mendez[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] has earned a UFC lightweight title shot, but there are people ahead of him.

Tsarukyan (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) scored a quick knockout of Beneil Dariush in the UFC on ESPN 52 headliner and called for a rematch with champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC).

But with [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] waiting for his title shot and [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] hoping to get his rematch with Makhachev rebooked, Mendez doubts Tsarukyan is Makhachev’s next title defense. Tsarukyan gave Makhachev a valiant effort in his UFC debut in 2019 but ultimately fell short.

“It was very impressive,” Mendez said on his YouTube channel. “Definitely because they had history and the fight was a very tough fight for Islam, you would think the UFC being the marketing machine that they are, that they’re always looking for intriguing matchups. But I think honestly there’s too many people ahead of him.

“I think Justin Gaethje, Charles are head of him, so I think that’s something they can hold later. I think, honestly speaking, we’re going to be looking at I would imagine would be Charles or Justin. Arman would be later, but I think he’s going to have to have one more fight. Not because he has to have one more fight, but because he’s not going to want to settle and do nothing.”

Whether the UFC opts to reschedule the Oliveira rematch or give Gaethje the title shot, Mendez says Makhachev is willing to face whomever is offered to him.

“I already know on Islam’s part, he’s not choosing the opponent,” Mendez said. “So, it comes down to whoever the UFC is going to offer, who they work out the deal with. Not who Islam chooses because whoever they say, he’s going to fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.