Arman Tsarukyan will fight against Charles Oliveira

Domestic fighter Arman Tsarukyan may already receive the status of a contender for the title of UFC champion in the spring, the main promotion in mixed martial arts (MMA), which belongs to Islam Makhachev, one of the brightest stars of the sport. To achieve the second fight in his career with Makhachev, Tsarukyan needs to cope with the former owner of the title – Brazilian Charles Oliveira.

UFC head Dana White announced that Arman Tsarukyan will fight against Charles Oliveira on his Instagram account (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia). The match will take place on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as part of the UFC 300 tournament. It will have contender status in the lightweight division (up to 70 kg). White confirmed that the winner will get the right to fight for the title with its owner, and the fight will most likely take place in the summer. The owner of the title is Russian Islam Makhachev, perhaps the brightest star in mixed martial arts right now. It is the undefeated Makhachev who currently occupies the top line in the official UFC ranking of the best fighters, regardless of weight category.

For 27-year-old Arman Tsarukyan, representing Armenia and Russia, fresh news means a chance to take revenge on Makhachev. Tsarukyan entered the UFC in 2019 and opened his career in the promotion with a loss. However, now it no longer looks like a complete failure. Tsarukyan met with Makhachev, who was already predicted to inevitably rise to the top of the lightweight hierarchy. 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. But with convincing victories over the Russian Damir Ismagulov and the Brazilian Joaquim Silva, he still secured a place in the top ten and eventually received a top-level opponent. It turned out to be a native of Iran, Beneil Daryush, 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. The December fight allowed Tsarukyan to sharply raise his quotes.

The entire fight lasted a little over a minute.

It ended with a sudden blow from Arman Tsarukyan with a knee to the chin, which widened the defense of Beneil Daryush. 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.

In the candidate match, Arman Tsarukyan’s opponent will be a fighter with an even more impressive track record than Daryush. 34-year-old Charles Oliveira held the world title before he faced Islam Makhachev in October 2022, losing in the second round after a choke. Then Oliveira defeated the same Daryush, and the UFC has already scheduled a re-fight for him against the Russian champion. It was supposed to take place in October 2023. However, shortly before the match, the Brazilian refused to compete, citing a severe cut to his eyebrow received during sparring. As a result, Oliveira was replaced by the outstanding Australian fighter Alexander Volkanovski, who had also already been defeated by Makhachev. He again lost to the Russian.

Alexey Dospehov