Outside Source
Islam Makhachev thinks he can stop Arman Tsarukyan inside the distance in their upcoming matchup.
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Makhachev looks to defend his lightweight strap against Tsarukyan in the main event at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California. The two previously met in 2019 when Makhachev roped in a hard-fought unanimous decision win. Tsarukyan stepped in on short notice against Makhachev for his UFC debut and displayed impressive takedown defense against the Dagestani. While it is widely regarded by some as Makhachev’s toughest outing to date, the lightweight champ disagrees. Makhachev claims that although Tsarukyan was a tough matchup, his toughest outing was his unanimous decision win over Alexander Volkanovski in his first title defense. Makhachev also believes his initial clash with Tsarukyan was competitive because he might have underestimated “Ahalkalakets.”
“It was one of the hardest fights of course but it’s not toughest fight,” Makhachev told Daniel Cormier. “Because the five round [fight] with Volkanovski, it was crazy, heart rate more than 200. But maybe I was underestimating because short notice, nobody know him and he don’t have name and I never watch his fight.”
According to UFCStats.com, Tsarukyan managed to land one takedown on Makhachev compared to the latter’s four. When Cormier accused Makhachev of being taken down three times by Tsarukyan, the Dagestani protested that no one including “DC” can land three takedowns on him. While he barely had any information on Tsarukyan leading up to the first fight, Makhachev believes he knows enough to finish the 27-year-old now.
“Three times nobody, brother,” Makhachev said. “Even you cannot take me down three times… The first fight I don’t know his background. He defends my wrestling. He is tough, that’s why he give me hard time. But I know everything what he can do… I think yes [I can finish him]. Charles [Oliveira], every round almost finish him. Do some guillotine, do some triangle choke, everything very close. But I think I have more strength.”
Tsarukyan is riding a four-fight winning streak with two finishes, topped off by a split-decision win in a title eliminator against Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 this past April. Meanwhile, Makhachev won the title against Oliveira in 2022 and has since defended it twice against Volkanovski and most recently against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in June.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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