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.