Battle For Potential Title Contender Status: Tsarukyan Finally Gets Top UFC Opponent

Top lightweight Arman Tsarukyan has won seven of his nine fights in the UFC and truly believes he can stop reigning champion Islam Makhachev. Now the Russian fighter has an opportunity to get close to a title fight. In a conversation with journalist Luke Thomas Beneil Dariush confirmed that he will fight Arman at the final UFC event in 2023. In this material Telecomasia.net covers all the interesting details of the possible fight.

Arman Tsarukyan stormed into the UFC in 2019 and immediately got future champion Islam Makhachev as an opponent. The athletes demonstrated an excellent competitive fight that became a hit with MMA gourmets. Tsarukyan lost by points, but we should not forget that the young prospect came out on short notice and didn't have a proper bootcamp. And Islam already looked like a machine back then.

Arman was upset, but quickly bounced back. The fighter won five fights in a row, beating tough opposition - Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Davi Ramos, Matt Frevola, Christos Giagos and Joel Alvarez. The UFC recognized the Russian prospect's success and trusted him to headline the June 2022 event. Tsarukyan fought Mateusz Gamrot and delivered a good performance. But the judges somehow gave the victory to the Pole, although Arman looked better.

The fighter took a short break until December and came back stronger. Arman took out a very tough puncher Damir Ismagulov, and then beat the daring Joaquim Silva until the fight was stopped.

Tsarukyan is an ultimate fighter with good cardio who is constantly working on his striking technique. Arman has repeatedly said he wants a rematch with Makhachev, and now he has a chance to get closer to that goal.

After losing to Alexander Hernandez in 42 seconds in March 2018, Dariush took a break for eight months to collect his thoughts. From November 2018 through June 2023, the American crushed everyone in his way - knocked out Scott Holtzman, choked out Frank Camacho, wiped the floor with Tony Ferguson. In October 2022, Beneil tamed Polish fighter Gamrot. Then Dariush effectively defended against numerous takedown attempts and sent his opponent to a knockdown.

Little by little, people started talking about Dariush as a real threat to Makhachev. Beneil's career was hampered by his modesty: he rarely gave interviews, did not challenge famous fighters, and won his last three fights by decision. In early 2023, Dariush hit the jackpot - he was matched up with former UFC champion Charles Oliveira at a June tournament.

The American's victory over the hyped Brazilian led him to a title shot. But Dariush faltered in the most important fight of his career. Beneil was in a dominant position on the ground, but made several critical mistakes. Oliveira got up, launched a high kick to the head and finished his stunned opponent. So Dariush didn't take the chance of a lifetime and now he will have to prove his worth again.

The bout between Arman Tsarukyan and Beneil Dariush is scheduled to take place on the night of December 17, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at UFC 296, where Leon Edwards and Colby Covington will battle for the welterweight title in the main event.

Bookmakers are likely to make Tsarukyan a strong favorite, although it's hard to agree with that. Dariush is a very serious test for the Russian fighter. Despite a one-sided loss to Oliveira, the American is still pretty good at defending against takedowns, and he can knock his opponents out. Even Silva stunned Tsarukyan and pushed his limits. Therefore, if Beneil gets hit, Arman will certainly feel bad.

However, Tsarukyan's strong suits should prevail. Though Dariush is not a bad wrestler, Gamrot moved him four times, though he couldn't control him properly afterwards. Arman took down Ismagulov, who is great at defending against takedowns. Tsarukyan has brought all of his opponents to the ground in the UFC except for Giagos (the fight was over in two minutes there).

It cannot be said that Dariush is significantly better than the Russian in striking technique: Edson Barboza, Alexander Hernandez, Ramsey Nijem and Charles Oliveira have knocked out the American. So Beneil's defense isn't always reliable and he misses some hits.

Tsarukyan will realize the advantage in the fight and take the victory by decision. It is possible that Arman will even finish Dariush at the end of the fight, slamming his opponent's head into the canvas. By doing so, Tsarukyan has a good chance to break into the top 5 of the lightweight rankings and challenge the champion.