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.”