Arman Tsarukyan knew he was stepping into a high-risk, low-reward situation with his co-main event fight against Damir Ismagulov at UFC Vegas 66.
While he praised Ismagulov as a worthy opponent, the reality is that Tsarukyan faced someone lower in the rankings who wasn’t as established in the lightweight division. Despite those odds, the 26-year-old got the job done to improve his UFC record to 6-2, with his only losses coming to Mateusz Gamrot and reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
“He’s not in the top five but he’s tougher than top fighters,” Tsarukyan said of Ismagulov during the UFC Vegas 66 post-fight press conference.
Tsarukyan employed a grappling-heavy strategy as he took Ismagulov down multiple times over three rounds. Tsarukyan stated that he would prefer to have more time because Ismagulov seemed to be starting to fade when the bell rang to end the fight.
“He became tired during the third round, and I began to feel it,” Tsarukyan stated. “I tried to find submissions but couldn’t. It was a great job. I would like to have 25 minutes. I already had that experience.
“I would like to have one more time because my last experience with 25 minutes, I made some mistakes. I started to go very fast like I had three rounds, but I had five rounds. However, after talking with my coaches, it became clear that I was emotional during the fight. However, I’d like my next fight to be at five rounds. I believe my condition is strong and can exhaust everyone and choke [them] in order to finish the fight .”
With the victory, Tsarukyan now looks ahead to his future after taking on an unknown opponent such as Ismagulov.
In fact, Tsarukyan wants to fight one of the best lightweights in UFC and have a shot at title contention in 2023.
” I would love to fight [against] Charles Oliveira, or [Beneil] Dariush,” Tsarukyan stated. “Because I deserve to have a big name. They don’t have a fight now and I’m ready.”
If Oliveira or Dariush are unavailable, Tsarukyan said he is happy to wait until he can compete again. He wants to learn from his mistakes in beating Ismagulov.
There’s always room to grow and Tsarukyan would like to fix some of those errors that prevented him from getting the finish at UFC Vegas 66.
“I don’t get injured, I feel good,” Tsarukyan said. “I am young, and I have the ability to lose weight. If the UFC offered me a big fight, I’m going to be ready in two months. If they offer me a top 15, fighter, I won’t fight.
” I’m going wait a while, work on my skills, and then go to [American Top Team] with my coach. Last camp in Thailand was canceled because I did not have a visa. He was furious. He got mad. This time I made mistakes with grappling, and I intend to correct them. We’ll choke everyone .”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/18/23514882/arman-tsarukyan-calls-fights-against-charles-oliveira-or-beneil-dariush-following-win-ufc-vegas-66?rand=96749
