Arman Tsarukyan knocked out Beneil Dariush in the UFC championship fight

Domestic fighter Arman Tsarukyan was among the candidates for the fight for the title of UFC champion, the main promotion in mixed martial arts, in the lightweight division (up to 70 kg) with its owner Islam Makhachev. His ratings were boosted by a spectacular victory in the first round over one of the category leaders, Beneil Dariush.

Talking about what happened in the central fight of the UFC tournament in the American city of Austin, ESPN reported that it seems to have given the lightweight division a new star. But strictly speaking, this is a slightly controversial definition. In fact, Arman Tsarukyan, a fighter representing Russia and Armenia, has been talked about as a star for quite some time.

Tsarukyan is 27 years old, and he joined the UFC in 2019. This athlete started his career in the promotion with a defeat, but now it no longer looks like a complete failure. Tsarukyan met with another Russian – Islam Makhachev, who some time after that victory soared to the top of the lightweight hierarchy, and recently, after a second consecutive win against Australian Alexander Volkanovski, to the top of the hierarchy of the best fighters, regardless of category. So, in 2019, Tsarukyan, still inexperienced compared to his opponent moving towards glory, gave him a tough fight. He showed himself excellent both in wrestling and in stand-up, but lost only on points. Since then, few people have managed to cause as many problems for Makhachev.

Arman Tsarukyan’s steep ascent did not go well, not so much because of this defeat, but because of the next one. Having managed to earn a reputation as an excellent fighter capable of much, Tsarukyan in 2022 faced the Pole Mateusz Gamrot. In that match, Gamrot prevailed by decision. But the lion’s share of media resources covering MMA assessed it as a terrible injustice. According to their version, the clear advantage was on Tsarukyan’s side.

It was this loss that deprived Arman Tsarukyan of seemingly already guaranteed fights against truly top opponents like Justin Gaethje or Dustin Poirier. But with convincing victories over Damir Ismagulov and Joakim Silva, he still secured his place in the top ten and eventually received a top-level opponent.

It turned out to be a native of Iran, Beneil Dariyush, who had been living in the United States for a long time, who at one time was positioned as a real hunter for the championship title. He would probably have won the contender rank if he had defeated the Brazilian Charles Oliveira in June: Makhachev had previously taken the title from him. But Dariush lost, and the revenge of Islam Makhachev against Oliveira gained relevance. It was supposed to take place just in October, but due to the Brazilian’s injury, the Russian fought with Volkanovski again. He will most likely cross paths with Oliveira next spring.

Beneil Dariyush became Arman Tsarukyan’s rival. And this fight allowed him to sharply raise his quotes.

It’s all about his style. Dariyush is a very strong fighter, and Tsarukyan is accustomed to the fact that he is not used to getting the better of his opponents at a sprint pace – he needs time to adapt to them, to test the waters. But in Austin, he demonstrated, one might say, a new side of talent. Seasoned Dariush clearly did not expect that Tsarukyan’s starting onslaught would be so stormy and so tough.

The whole fight lasted just over a minute. It ended with a sudden blow from Arman Tsarukyan with a knee to the chin, which widened the defense of Beneil Dariush. Then a punch penetrated through her, and it was followed by a finishing off of the opponent who had fallen on the floor, which was unnecessary due to the obviousness of the knockout. Well, the logical words of Tsarukyan, who admitted that he expects that his next fight will be a fight for the title. In fact, if the UFC, when identifying a contender, makes a choice in his favor, the MMA community will probably now treat this with understanding and respect. The second fight of Islam Makhachev with Arman Tsarukyan is a good “poster”, no worse than the second fight of Makhachev with Oliveira, who he once defeated without any options.

Alexey Dospehov