Mateusz Gamrot wants Justin Gaethje after hard-fought decision win over Arman Tsarukyan in UFC Vegas 57 main event

Nothing came easy for Mateusz Gamrot, but he did enough over five rounds to win a unanimous decision against Arman Tsarukyan in a back-and-forth war in the UFC Vegas 57 main event.

A rough start early gave way to a tenacious performance from Gamrot over the final three rounds, which is what ultimately helped him get the nod on the scorecards. All three judges had the fight 48-47 with Gamrot picking up his biggest win to date over a highly touted prospect in Tsarukyan.

The win also gave Gamrot the opportunity to ask for a matchup against arguably the most exciting fighter on the entire UFC roster for his next opponent.

” This was a tough fight,” Gamrot stated. “Arman is a very tough guy. We are a new generation. We can train together in the future, I believe.

“I am ready for f****** every single guy in the division. In the future, I will be a champion for sure. Justin Gaethje is my dream fighter. Justin Gaethje’s the most brutal guy in the division. I would like to fight with him .”

Prior to the callout, Gamrot first had to get through Tsarukyan, which was no easy task as the Armenian-born contender gave him everything he could handle over 25 minutes.

It was an aggressive strategy shown by Tsarukyan when the fight got started with Gamrot countering by looking for a couple of slick single-leg takedown attempts. Tsarukyan scored first, putting Gamrot to the floor. However, the ex-two-division KSW champion broke free quickly before the welterweights came back to their feet.

The wild scrambles continued in almost every exchange with Tsarukyan and Gamrot constantly battling for position, neither man willing to give an inch.

When the fighters stayed standing for any significant amount of time, it was Tsarukyan who did damage with his kicks as he blasted Gamrot to the body on several occasions. Tsarukyan seemed to make Gamrot pay for every attempt to change to a southpaw position.

Gamrot continued his hunt for Tsarukyan, displaying superior boxing and effective defense as the fight moved to the third round. When Gamrot was finally able to close the distance and maintain position, he dragged Tsarukyan to the ground while also controlling him from the clinch against the cage.

While it appeared that Gamrot was gaining confidence, Tsarukyan didn’t back down as he continued firing back with a variety of strikes including a spinning back kick that reverberated off the ribs.

Just as Gamrot seemed to be connecting with his boxing combos, Tsarukyan responded with a massive spinning backfist that shocked the Polish welterweight. Gamrot retaliated with a takedown, which put Tsarukyan on the floor for the first-time as he tried to find a back-naked choke.

Gamrot continued to fight until the end, even though Tsarukyan was able to explode out of his position.

Realizing that his wrestling could help him secure the victory, Gamrot went right back to the takedown again in the fifth round with Tsarukyan doing everything possible to stay at a distance. Tsarukyan managed to keep some strikes on the mark, but he had to battle Gamrot’s wrestling which negated most of his offense.

It seems that was ultimately the difference in the fight with the judges rewarding Gamrot’s grappling and control over the strikes landed by Tsarukyan.

” I don’t know why,” Tsarukyan stated. This camp was excellent. But I don’t know. I had to show a better fight than this one. I know me. It was my first time five rounds, that’s probably why it was difficult. I thought I won this fight. I thought I won three rounds.”

It was an extremely close affair throughout so it’s understandable if the scorecards were all over the place but the judges actually all agreed on every single round with Tsarukyan capturing the first and the second and Gamrot securing the decision by winning the final three.

Considering the pedigree these two showed on Saturday night, it’s hard to imagine they won’t meet again but for now Gamrot can enjoy his victory as he starts looking towards the fights that could potentially put him in title contention.