“Islam will fight Poirier. Arman will fight the winner. Manager Tsarukyan’s UFC 300 results

At UFC 300 on April 13 in Las Vegas, Arman Tsarukyan defeated Charles Oliveira, and it was essentially a fight for the right to get revenge on Islam Makhachev. And if Oliveira made Makhachev a UFC champion in 2022, losing a fight to him, then Makhachev made Tsarukyan himself a UFC fighter. In April 2019, a tournament was held in St. Petersburg. No one agreed to fight Islam and only a 22-year-old man from Khabarovsk volunteered. It was Arman Tsarukyan. Since then, in a productive partnership with his manager Sayat, Tsarukyan has won 9 fights in the UFC and become a lightweight title contender. As you already know, Islam Makhachev took the belt in 2022.

What we talk about with Sayat Abdrakhmanov:

Tsarukyan: from Khabarovsk to the UFC

— On the way to the cage, Arman almost got into a fight with one of the fans. Are you surprised this is happening?

– Of course, I was surprised. These are usually useless things. Perhaps, to some extent, this influenced the very chaotic start to the fight. We talked about it after the fight, but Arman insisted he did everything right. For my part, I said that if people see how you are provoked, they will provoke you even more. You can’t lose concentration before a fight. We must leave all these things aside. And generally speaking, the level is not the right one to be distracted by such things.

-Did you manage to see the man himself?

– Well, I was walking right behind Arman, I saw him, yes.

— Was Arman really hit?

– No, he didn’t hit, because he immediately went back. At first he seemed to be pointing furiously at the signs and almost pointing his finger at his face. And as soon as Arman attacked him, he immediately went back, raising his hands with wet eyes. Apparently the internet warrior slightly confused real life and business in the comments.

— You have experience in jiu-jitsu. When you saw Oliveira take the guillotine in the first round, did you think it was dangerous?

“It was a really tight guillotine.” I immediately remembered the fight between Volkanovski and Ortega – the intensity was similar. Arman reacted quickly and began to loosen his grip with micro-movements and move out with his body. If he had reacted later, it would have been even tighter.

In principle, there are certain techniques for getting out, but the bottom line is that if you free your body and do not allow it to properly control you with your legs, it will be much more difficult to perform a guillotine. And there, if you look, Armand immediately started to withdraw his pelvis, and Oliveira held Armand’s body so hard with his legs that Armand’s shorts even fell down.

Moreover, one of the options in this case is to sacrifice a position somewhere, you can even abandon the mount (the position where the opponent sits at the top. Oliveira took it after an unsuccessful attempt at receiving the first turn – Note “”), so as to slightly loosen the grip on the neck.

— You were in Arman’s corner with Artem Levin and an ATT coach, known by the nickname “Parumpa”. Who advised changing anything after the first round?

“I wasn’t around.” There was Artem Levin, Marcos Parumpa and Elvis Shahbazyan. So I was sitting there. I couldn’t hear the corner from my position, but anyway, our main coach in this team is Marcos “Parumpa” Da Matt. He speaks English fluently and sometimes inserts Russian words.

— Were you surprised that Oliveira slowed the pace so much in the second and third rounds?

“I can’t say what really surprised me, but it became clear that he slowed the pace and little by little, from the second round onwards, Arman completely took the initiative. And then it just kept growing. It was only because Armand decided to take a risk and aim for the finish that Oliveira had a good time at the end of the fight (Oliveira indicated a technical attempt at the end of the third round. – Note “”). But at the same time he did not close the handle well and there was no danger there.

– Now that the battle is already over, can you tell me what you wanted to do first?

“It was understood that Oliveira could be transferred and even that he himself would agree to take a position from below. Perhaps Arman himself will be warned. And as we saw, Armand was first on top when he made a sweep after the mount, then he made a great pass, although Oliveira was not easy to translate. And after that, Charles himself took a position from below and did not try to get up. In other words, it was understood that, from his position at the top, Arman could inflict damage and control the flow of the fight. Even when Oliveira delivered an illegal blow to Armand, the first thing Armand demanded was that they be left in the same position. In other words, the team has specially prepared for this. Even if Oliveira has a very good guard, dangerous, offensive. Here it was very important to combine terrain, pounding and control, without giving too much space to work.

— Many were surprised by the split decision, were you?

“I was sure that Arman had won, but I doubted the competence of the judges. And as we see, the competence of a judge remains in question.

— Did I understand correctly that judges remain the most obscure people in MMA? In other words, you can’t just talk to them privately and ask them why this decision?

— The commission protects its judges; it does not give them the opportunity to give interviews or explain their decisions in any way. And on the day of the tournament, you don’t come across them.

— Several hours have passed since the fight, did your team express the idea that now, probably, the most difficult thing for Arman will be simply to wait a long time for Islam Makhachev, when he fights with Dustin Poirier and is ready to fight with you?

– No, we understood it that way. The fight against Islam on June 1 was proposed to us for the first time; it occurred immediately after the tournament. And before the fight, we understood that there was no point in fighting for the title on short notice. Especially when we have already fixed the position of the number one contender. It was understood that Islam and Poirier would now fight on June 1st. And then Arman will fight with the winner. If you noticed, during the press conference, a note was given to Dana White, because everything was being decided at that point.

— So you just verbally said that you don’t want to fight Makhachev first?

— Yes, yes, there were negotiations. I think it’s in Armand’s best interest to have a full camp now, to rest after this fight. And why does Islam need this – for Arman to leave at short notice? I’m sure Islam wants to fight with the best version of Arman.

— Is there a chance it will be in Abu Dhabi in the fall?

– Considering that Islam has fought for the belt more than once and defended it, this is one of the most likely possibilities.

—Does Arman have any injuries, or should we just rest and start camp?

— No, there are no serious injuries. It is clear that during the preparation there were some minor injuries, which is why he now needs at least two to three weeks of rest.

“From their first fight, I remember how much smaller Arman is than Islam when they are close. Is this an important factor?

— I think this is an important factor, given the style of Islam, where dimensions and physics play an important role. But Arman has already met him and knows what to expect. Again, it’s time to prepare and decide how to counter these advantages.

— Have you already discussed Arman’s move to the 66 kg category?

“Given Arman’s results in the lightweight category, it didn’t even make sense to discuss it at the moment. I am against extreme training and against fighters running less so they can have a longer career and less impact on their health.

— How do you imagine victory over Islam Makhachev?

“Islam is truly a fighter of the highest level, which is at its peak today. But he’s human and we’ve seen him lose. That is, there is no need to make it a monster that cannot be defeated in any way.

— How do you imagine sparring partners? Are these people with a strong skill, like takedowns or chokes, or just MMA fighters of the highest class possible?

“We will leave that to the discretion of the technical staff.” At a minimum, you need southpaws who wrestle well, have good control, and hook from the stance. They have a high level of protection and operate quite conservatively. You will have to select sparring partners, knowing that you will not find a person of this level. Rather, you will need someone who can cause problems in all aspects.

— You don’t believe in Dustin Poirier in the fight against Islam?

– Of course, it is possible that he becomes champion. But I will be very surprised if he defeats Islam. I think Islam clearly remains the favorite in their fight.

— Without giving specific figures, could you say where it would be more profitable for Arman to fight: in Las Vegas or Abu Dhabi?

— No, Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi make no difference. Now, if Arman had fought in New Jersey, there would have been a serious difference in the contract, because here you agree to a title fight on a very short notice.

— Will the title fight take place under the current contract?

— It’s too early to talk about it. So far, Arman is only in his second fight under his new contract.

— Arman entered the UFC as a replacement in a fight with Islam Makhachev. Do you remember how you started collaborating? Because at that time almost no one knew him, he looked like a guy from Khabarovsk with good stats.

— Arman and I met when he arrived in Thailand and, in my opinion, he was 18 years old. He was just preparing for his professional MMA debut, and by then it was already clear that he was a gifted athlete. After that, he returned to Thailand several times, and once, during a selection for Tiger, I also invited him to participate. And Arman is one of the few people who, even before signing with the UFC, I told him that I had no doubt that he would succeed and that he would be there at a high level . It was difficult for young Armand to believe it, but personally, I could imagine it then.

— But there is a legend that MMA is a sport for hungry and poor guys. Did you ever have doubts about him when you saw that he was well dressed and could come to train from a good hotel?

— Armand is also hungry. Only hungry for success, hungry for success. Money, of course, is also a motivator, but when money is your main motivator, this matter can be resolved very quickly, and then what?

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