Strike at a cost in a dream fight. Did Tsarukyan deprive himself of a rematch with Makhachev?
Sergey Sorokin June 26, 2024, 19:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
But there are still possibilities to save the situation.
On April 13, the UFC 300 tournament took place, which delighted mixed martial arts fans with a large number of events. And not all of them happened in the octagon. For example, Arman Tsarukyan scored with a minus sign. In the cage he defeated Charles Oliveira by split decision. But even when he entered the fight, Arman found himself in the middle of an unpleasant situation. He fell for the provocation of a fan and hit him. The attack was not particularly noticeable and the fan was not injured. But punishment, although not immediately, overtook Tsarukyan.
The new challenger’s fight with Charles Oliveira did not convince:
Tsarukyan is not ready for a rematch with Makhachev. The future fight will take Armand out of the belt for a long time.
The day before it became known that Arman was disqualified for nine months. In addition, the fighter will have to pay a fine of 25 thousand dollars, but the most important thing is that the suspension period will not expire until January 12, 2025. This means that Tsarukyan will not qualify for the fall UFC tournament in Abu Dhabi. . It is true that there are still possibilities to save the situation. The sentence could reportedly be reduced to six months if the Akhalkalaki resident posts a video as part of an anti-bullying campaign. Therefore, there are still options to get out of this situation.
It should be noted that the fighter’s manager, Daniel Rubinstein, managed to react to the incident. He noted that Tsarukyan’s team hopes to hold a title fight at the end of the year: “Arman appreciates the actions of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) for his involvement in this matter. “He hopes to work with the UFC and NSAC to develop a joint anti-bullying campaign video so he can fight for a title later this year.”
Arman Tsarukian
Photo: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Of course, Arman will try to do everything possible to continue competing in the fall tournament. He understands perfectly well that Islam has been planning to move to another division for a long time. And most likely, if in 2025 he still fights in the lightweight division, he will definitely try to aim for a second championship belt. It is unlikely that Makhachev will wait for Tsarukyan to give him the opportunity to avenge his defeat in the first fight.
Arman made a serious attack on the champion and Diamante:
“It would be a very easy fight for me.” Tsarukyan underestimates Makhachev in vain
Still, it seems like the organization is interested in trying to make this fight happen. The battle between Makhachev and Tsarukyan is historic. And now the challenger is not just trying to win the belt. He wants revenge for the defeat suffered five years ago. Since then, Armand has posted a 9-1 record in the UFC and his only loss was highly controversial. In addition, at the moment it is difficult to find a more suitable opponent for Makhachev. And Islam itself is hardly against such a confrontation. Tsarukyan said a lot.
Islam Makhachev
UFC Lightweight Champion
“He’s just chatting, trying to somehow… He can’t fight, so he’s somehow trying to get attention with his statements. He already had a chance, I beat him once and I think I will have to beat him a second time.”
I would like to believe that the revenge of Tsarukyan and Makhachev will still take place. The fighters will finally end their relationship. Or perhaps, on the contrary, they will release it as a trilogy. Arman is able to stump the champion and win the belt. So instead of moving to a new division, Islam will definitely try to regain the title. And if he wins Makhachev, he will finally show everyone that in the lightweight division he will not allow anyone to interrupt his total dominance. And then the organization will no longer be able to prevent the champion from trying to win the second belt.
