Arman
Tsarukyan has high praise for Adriano
Martins, the only man to beat Islam
Makhachev.
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Tsarukyan challenges Makhachev for the lightweight title in the
main event at UFC 311
on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Las Vegas. In preparation,
Tsarukyan is training with Martins, who dealt Makhachev his lone
career loss in 2015.
Makhachev faced Martins in his sophomore
Ultimate Fighting Championship outing in 2015, when he suffered
a first-round knockout loss. With Makhachev having since taken over
the lightweight division, many attribute that loss to a lucky shot
from Martins. However, Tsarukyan doesn’t think so after sparring
with the Brazilian veteran. According to “Ahalkalakets,” Martins
holds natural power in his hands, which left him bleeding for two
weeks after getting hit in sparring.
“I’ll tell you straight, his punch is insane,” Tsarukyan told
Ushatayka (h/t Home of Fight). “It’s not just a lucky punch,
as people say. He landed two punches like that on me during
sparring, and… no one has ever hit me like that. He caught me once,
and my eye swelled up completely, turned all blue. I don’t know… I
spat blood for two weeks, man. His power is natural, absolutely
insane. He just hits incredibly hard. That right hook and his
straight left, they’re just crazy.
“Not surprising at all. I also thought it was a lucky punch, but
after sparring with him… when he landed that right hook on me, I
realized it’s better to box at a distance with this guy.”
Makhachev is unbeaten in 14 fights since his loss to Martins, a run
which includes four title wins. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan has lost only
once in 10 outings since falling to Makhachev in 2019.