Outside Source
The only man to defeat Islam Makhachev has been a valuable presence in Arman Tsarukyan’s camp.
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Adriano Martins, who knocked out the reigning UFC lightweight champion in October 2015, traveled from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, to American Top Team to help Tsarukyan prepare for his main event clash with Makhachev at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 in Los Angeles.
“Master Parrumpa [Marcos DaMatta] believes I have a similar game to Islam and could help Arman a lot in this camp. Since I have a fight on Dec. 27 in Russia, he invited me to have my camp here at ATT,” the 42-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt told Sherdog.com.
After training with Tsarukyan on a daily basis for a month, Martins believes his teammate has the potential to defeat Makhachev. Tsarukyan initially faced Makhachev in his Octagon debut, falling via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 149 on April 20, 2019.
“Arman has a pretty solid game: good striking, great wrestling and also a very good level in the ground. And he never gets tired, just like Islam,” Martins said. “It’s going to be a five-round fight, so I believe the turning point will be the strategy. If Arman does everything we are training under coach Parrumpa, I truly believe he will be the second man to beat Makhachev — now getting his belt.”
After almost three years living away from the MMA world in Manaus, Martins returned to the training routine after receiving an offer to fight Donovan Desmae under the Kongs Fighting Championship banner this past March. Despite not being in peak condition, Martins won a split decision and since then, hasn’t stopped training. He’ll lock horns with Bellator MMA veteran Alexander Sarnavskiy at AMC Fight Nights 126 in Moscow in about a week and a half.
“That win motivated me a lot, so I came to ATT and started to focus on my physical part,” he said. “With all the structure and great sparring partners we have here at ATT, I can tell that I´m ready to give a great fight with Sarnavskiy on Dec. 27 in Russia.”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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