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Arman Tsarukyan believes he's the only one who can defeat UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Tsarukyan is coming off a third-round TKO win over Joaquim Silva earlier this month. It made it two wins in a row for the Armenian-Russian and seven wins in his last eight overall.
A win or two more — particularly over a top-five opponent — should be enough to get Tsarukuyan his first-ever title shot. And if Makhachev is still the champion at the time, it would make things very interesting.
Tsarukyan's UFC debut came against Makhachev back in April 2019 and although he suffered a unanimous decision defeat, it was an extremely competitive fight.
Most would even say it's been Makhachev's toughest fight in the last few years barring his recent title defense against UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
And as far as Tsarukyan is concerned, he's the only lightweight capable of defeating Makhachev.
“Just me can beat him in our division,” Tsarukyan told LowKick MMA (via MMA Junkie). “It’s my opinion. … It’s my dream fight. All my focus is to be a champion. That’s why I called him out. We’ll see. Maybe next year we’ll fight with each other. I want to see my improvements. I want to see my skills. That fight, I think (is) the most competitive fight for me.”
The key for Tsarukyan?
Keeping the fight on the ground and using what he believes to be his superior striking skills to end up getting the win over Islam Makhachev, exacting revenge and becoming the new lightweight champion in the process.
“I think I’m going to defend his wrestling and beat him in the standup,” Tsarukyan explained. “I believe my striking is better, my kicks, my boxing. He has a good clinch, but I think my footwork, my kicks and my boxing is much better.
“He has good things in striking, too. We’ve got to be careful. I know how I can beat him and I want to show it to everybody. It’s going to be a tough fight, but I believe in myself and I’ll go there just for the win.”
