Arman Tsarukyan's UFC 300 prediction aims to play spoilsport in Dustin Poirier's plans to capture UFC lightweight title
Arman Tsarukyan is set to return to the octagon for the first time in 2024 when he faces Charles Oliveira on the main card of UFC 300 this weekend. The No.4-ranked lightweight is hoping that his performance can catapult him to a title opportunity against Islam Makhachev.
It has been teased that Dustin Poirier could be the next to challenge the lightweight champion, with rumors suggesting that the pair could clash at UFC 302. 'Ahalkalakets' recently revealed his prediction for his upcoming clash with 'Do Bronx' and it could prevent 'The Diamond' from receiving a title opportunity. Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Tsarukyan stated:
"It's going to be a crazy fight because Oliveira, he knows wrestling, he knows jiu-jitsu, he knows how to strike. I even don't know what he wants to do during the fight. Same as him, he doesn't know what I'm going to do - wrestle him or strike him. If he's going to miss punches, he's going to wrestle. Me too, if I miss punches, I'm going to wrestle."
Tsarukyan continued:
"It's going to be like a scramble fight so exciting fight and who knows MMA, everybody is going to watch this fight because we are both completely MMA fighters, but my prediction is a finish in the first round, TKO."
Check out Arman Tsarukyan's prediction for his UFC 300 clash with Charles Oliveira below (starting at the 10:17 mark):
While Oliveira has suffered four first-round losses in his mixed martial arts career, his most recent such loss came against Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night 74 back in 2015. If Tsarukyan is correct in his prediction and avoids injury, it will likely grant him the next title opportunity over Poirier, his American Top Team teammate.
Arman Tsarukyan labels Charles Oliveira clash as dream fight
Arman Tsarukyan will face the biggest test of his mixed martial arts career when he faces Charles Oliveira on the main card of UFC 300. During his recent appearance on The MMA Hour, the No.4-ranked lightweight was asked about the opportunity. He responded:
"It's like a dream fight. He was the champion. For me, it's like a fight for the belt because he was a champion, he defended his belt, and he's No.1, especially this fight, it's like contender No.1. I was super excited, super happy, and I couldn't sleep a couple of days after that news."
Check out Arman Tsarukyan's comments on facing Charles Oliveira below (starting at the 0:29 mark):
Tsarukyan revealed that he was expecting either Oliveira or Justin Gaethje as his next opponent after knocking out Beneil Dariush in the first round of the main event of UFC on ESPN 52. He noted that he believes fans want to see him rematch Islam Makhachev due to the close nature of their 2019 bout, which marked 'Ahalkalakets' made competitive despite taking the fight on short notice in his promotional debut.