Outside Source
Eddie Alvarez is confident that Arman Tsarukyan can beat Islam Makhachev after witnessing lightweight champion’s latest title defense.
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Alvarez was in attendance at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, for UFC 302, where Makhachev put his lightweight strap on the line against Dustin Poirier in the headliner. A massive underdog going in, Poirier exceeded expectations by giving Makhachev a run for his money before submitting to a brabo choke in the final round. While Makhachev’s title run may seem similar to that of teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov, Alvarez believes the reigning champ is much more susceptible to losing than “Eagle.”
“Khabib, his greatness was in he never fought midway. Khabib fought way far away or suffocated you in. He never put himself in danger. So, he was either on top of you suffocating you, you can’t breathe, or way far away to never get hit. He was beautiful on that, he did that. And he never got really hurt during his fights,” Alvarez said on “The MMA Hour”
“Islam’s different because Islam plays in between a lot more, he takes a lot more risks. He goes for a lot more submissions, he tries to finish. So, he puts himself in more danger than Khabib ever did. So, he is susceptible to getting beat more than Khabib was.”
Tsarukyan was originally offered the title shot against Makhachev after beating Charles Oliveira in a title eliminator at UFC 300 in April. However, Tsarukyan, who lost his short-notice UFC debut against Makhachev, turned down the rematch due to the quick turnaround. The Armenian-Russian is currently the No. 1-ranked lightweight contender and most likely to receive the next title shot. After Makhachev’s performance at UFC 302, Alvarez is confident that Tsarukyan dethrones the champ.
Alvarez noted that Dagestani champs are used to thoroughly dominating their opponents in the wrestling aspect. He further noted that the only time Makhachev faced adversity in taking his opponent down, it became a really close fight. Alvarez believes “Ahalkalakets,” with his elite wrestling background, beats Makhachev in a potential fight he believes the champ doesn’t want.
“Arman beats him. I made that assumption right after the fight,” Alvarez said. “Because look at who Khabib went against, right. Everybody that Khabib defended against, he had what I call distinct grappling advantage, like the gap in their grappling advantage is so high. And he dominated these guys, he never had to take the risk of getting his shots stopped, not securing a takedown, not being on top.
“Islam had to deal with that a little bit and look how bad it kind of went the other way when he couldn’t get the guy to ground and control him… So, I think Arman, because of his wrestling background, he’s gonna be able to stop the shots. He may even take Islam down a little bit. Islam won’t be the hammer the entire fight. And we need to see how they’re gonna deal with that cause they’re always the hammer, always the hammer…I don’t know if they want that fight, I feel they don’t want that fight.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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