Arman Tsarukyan already has a plan after his recent victory over Beneil Dariush: to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt.
Tsarukyan impressed during the event after making a quick win over the veteran opponent in the event in Texas this weekend. Within 64 seconds, the young fighter managed to knock out Dariush. This victory puts “Ahalkalakets” in the lightweight title conversation, and Tsarukyan wants his whole division to know about this. As such, the fighter made the bold move to call for a title shot against the current lightweight champ.
“When they gave me the fight, I was thinking, ‘I have to knock him (Dariush) out in the first round and call out Islam and get a title fight,” Tsarukyan shared during the UFC on ESPN 52 post-fight news conference.
In case he is given the chance to face Makhachev, it will be a rematch between them after the current champ defeated him in 2019 in his UFC debut. There are other bigger names before him, but the Armenian-Russian professional mixed martial artist is confident that his performance will suffice to make his callout credible. The fighter also mentioned Charles Oliveira, who already fought Makhachev in 2022 and lost. “Do Bronxs,” nonetheless, beat Dariush last June, and Tsarukyan believes he outperformed the Brazilian in taking down Dariush. With this, the young fighter thinks he deserves the title shot.
“Charles (Oliveira) knocked him out, and if I won by decision, how am I going to fight for the title?” Tsarukyan said. “But I knocked him out faster than Charles, and he didn’t take me down like he did with Charles. I performed better than Charles. Charles already had the opportunity, so it’s my time right now.”
