Arman Tsarukyan returns to the Octagon following his disappointing loss against Mateusz Gamrot in June. He will fight Damir Ismagulov in the co-main event of the UFC Fight Night 216 this weekend. He is a highly-rated prodigy who had a close bout against the current champ Islam Makhachev. Recently Arman revealed who Makhachev may face next and surprisingly Charles Oliveira is not an option.
Ahead of his big bout against Damir, Arman Tsarukyan sat down for an interview with The Schmo. During their conversation, Arman gave his prediction for how the lightweight division will play out in the coming weeks. As per the 26-year-old, Islam will beat Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284. Although Makhachev will put his belt up for grabs, Volkanovski is not a lightweight.
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So which lightweight fighter will Islam defend his belt against if he beats Volkanovski in the upcoming PPV? Arman Tsaurkyan has the answer and it is not Charles Oliveira! Tsarukyan thinks Beneil Dariush will be the favorite to get the title opportunity in the 155lbs division. “Ahalkalakets” also opined that Dariush is skilled enough to get the best of “Do Bronx.”
“I think Dariush gonna fight with maybe (Rafael) Fiziev or (Charles) Oliveira. And, I heard he wants to fight. You know, he doesn’t want to wait you know, and Dariush gonna beat Oliveira and then gonna like fight Islam.”
There is no denying that Beneil Dariush deserves a title shot in the near future. The 33-year-old is on an 8-fight win streak and defeated Mateusz Gamrot on his last outing at UFC 280. Dariush possesses a great amount of power and his grappling is amongst the best in the Top 5 of the division. Although the match-up against Oliveira is a hard one, Beneil has the tools to succeed.
Charles Oliveira turned down a rematch against Islam Makhachev at UFC 283
Although Arman Tsarukyan does not think Charles Oliveira will beat Beneil Dariush to earn a title shot next, the story could have been entirely different. After Islam Makhachev shocked the world and submitted Oliveira at UFC 280 to win the belt, the UFC had a discussion with Team Oliveira for an immediate rematch. Oliveira himself demanded another crack at Islam immediately after the fight.
However, Oliveira’s coach Diego Lima from Chute Boxe revealed that Charles ultimately prioritized his mental health instead of the rematch. The 33-year-old is in no rush to return to the Octagon and wants a break to heal his mental stress first. But there is no timeline as to when he may return.
“I talked it over with Charles. He’s not injured, but there’s an emotional stress. It’s way beyond physical. Charles is the only fighter that has faced all the top 5 guys within a year. Champs normally hide, they want to fight once a year. That’s not Charles, but Rio is way too close now. We prefer to give Charles a well-deserved vacation.” (h/t via Bloody Elbow)
UFC later booked Glover Teixeira vs Jamahal Hill to fill the UFC 283 main event slot.
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Hence, Arman Tsarukyan may just be right. UFC may decide to pit Beneil Dariush against Charles Oliveira to decide the next no. 1 title contender in the division.
Who do you think wins in a battle between two elite grapplers? Let us know in the comments down below.