“Only I can beat him in our division,” the Russian fighter said in an interview with Lowkick MMA. “It’s my opinion. This is my dream fight. All my efforts are aimed at becoming a champion – that’s why I challenged him. Let’s see how things turn out. Maybe next year we will fight each other. I want to test my skills, I want to see my progress. At the moment, this fight is the most competitive for me.”
“I think I can defend against his fight and beat him on the stand. I believe that I excel him in striking technique, in boxing, in kicks. He’s good in the clinch, but my footwork, punching and boxing is much better. He has a bit of a knack for standing, so I have to be careful. I know exactly how I can defeat him, and I want to show it to the whole world. It will be a tough fight, but I believe in myself and I will only fight it to win.”
On June 17 at UFC on ESPN 47 in Las Vegas, Arman Tsarukyan scored a second victory in a row, finishing by TKO in the third round of the Brazilian Joaquim Silva, after which he announced that he was ready to deal with Islam Makhachev, and also called Benil Dariush and Michael Chandler the most logical rivals.
At the same time, Tsarukyan made it clear that he would like to have the next fight on October 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, where Islam Makhachev plans to defend his title.
Recall that in April 2019, Arman Tsarukyan made his UFC debut on short notice, losing in three rounds by unanimous decision to Islam Makhachev in a competitive fight. After that, Tsarukyan scored five victories in the UFC until losing a unanimous decision to Pole Mateusz Gamrot last June.