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It’s been about six months since No. 8-ranked Arman Tsarukyan last walked into the cage, where he shut out Damir Ismagulov and shattered his 19-fight winning streak. He was scheduled to face Renato Moicano just a couple weeks ago, but an injury to “Money” left Tsarukyan without a dance partner.
Per a report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, that’s about to change, as Tsarukyan has been booked opposite Brazilian veteran Joaquim Silva for UFC Vegas 75 on June 17 from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a booking that has fans … perplexed. Take a look at some of the reactions below:
Wildly underwhelming fight for Arman… Damn shame they couldn’t give him a ranked opponent. He’s gonna be like -2500 in this fight. Smh
— Shayne (@TheReal2Shaynez) May 9, 2023
Same guy that lost to Vinc Pachel, Rick Glenn & Nasrat Haqparast is supposed to be competitive against one of the best 155ers on the planet?
— rcj (@Kentucky_MMA) May 9, 2023
@BabbleonFivePod @420MMApicks This ties into what we discussed. You have guys like Poirier asking for fights, but then refusing to fight guys like Arman so we wind up with this. Arman should skip over Poirier in this type of situation IMO, as far as ranking/title shot goes
— JJ (@JeremiahJanzen) May 9, 2023
This is awful match making.
— Your Best Bet (@YBBSportsData) May 9, 2023
genuinely NOBODY wants to fight him
— do bronx elbow ⚔️ (@tonyselbow1) May 9, 2023
Top 10 ducking so hard bro has to fight randos lol
— AGC4MMA (@UFC4AGC4) May 9, 2023
CANNOT GET TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN fights .. SAD REALLY
— steve jeffs (@steves_simpson) May 9, 2023
Silva is not a bad fighter by any means, but it’s hard to argue he’s on the level of Tsarukyan. The 26-year-old Georgian talent is widely believed to be a future champion, and he already gave current Lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev one of his more difficult challenges in a short-notice debut. Since that bout, Tsarukyan has won six of seven, only coming up short in a controversial five-round decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot.
Silva, meanwhile, has lost two of his last three. The knockout artist has stopped established UFC talent like Jared Gordon and Jesse Ronson, but it’s hard to see how this fight works out for him. Ultimately, it’s better than Tsarukyan not fighting at all and heading back to the shelf.
It’s just rather far from the step up in competition that the top prospect desired. Plus, Silva has major power in his hands, so it remains a somewhat dangerous fight for the young wrestler, who should be fighting up the ladder rather than down.
Insomnia
Nate Diaz treating the clown show with about as much respect as it deserves.
I wrote about this more extensively after the first Petr Yan match, but I despise watching Aljamain Sterling kneel in front of opponents who aren’t allowed to take advantage because of a faulty rule set. I find Ryan Hall’s rolling around without fear of stomps similarly annoying.
This “grounded” knee/hand down rule is COMPLETELY illogical on all aspects of combat & isn’t realistic by any means , it’s ruining UFC.
Can’t count on one hand how many times Henry could have blasted his knee to aljos temple…Asia’s MMA rules are superior in every way. pic.twitter.com/S6hRmp65gB
— FŪTÜRĘ NÅŤIØN ☠️ (@AlexioBrowny) May 8, 2023
On a positive note, prioritizing damage over takedowns had been a great improvement compared to judging decisions ten years ago.
Dominick Cruz: It also did change my game. When you’re wrestling people, you need to be looking for elbows and knees. You need to cut them. You have to cut the guy now. At least once. To me, cuts are worth more than take downs. pic.twitter.com/qqmRH0f90n
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 9, 2023
Recognize any of the names of upcoming Contenders Series debutants?
#DWCS Here is a summary of the Contender Series 2023 participants and bouts confirmed by sources that I am aware of as of May 9th 2023.
Original sources can be found on my Twitter feed.
Thank you to all who continue to help collect this information pic.twitter.com/XnXYH15NTa
— Danny Jones (@Tidy_MMA) May 9, 2023
Is this how Sean O’Malley breaks into the GOAT race?
Frankie Edgar is apparently not so good at staying within the correct combat area.
Slips, rips, and KO clips
Stamp Fairtex’s liver kick stoppage last week was awesome.
Boxing history:
A prolonged attack along the fence brought about the end in this one.
Random Land
Ninja Warrior moves.
Midnight Music: Alternative, 2010
Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
