Arman Tsarukyan is now targeting the ranked lightweights.
Tsarukyan is coming off an impressive performance in his unanimous decision win over Davi Ramos at UFC Fight Island 2 last night.
Striking clinic!
@Arm_011 is putting on a show late in RD 3.#InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi | #UFCFightIsland2 pic.twitter.com/Wbc01VqIfs
— UFC (@ufc) July 18, 2020
The 23-year-old was certainly pleased with his performance, especially as he notably became the first person to take Ramos down in the UFC.
“This was a great fight for me because Davi Ramos is a very strong opponent,” he said post-fight (via MMA Junkie). “He is one of the stronger grapplers in the world. … I’m a very young fighter, every day I will get better and better. I can destroy my whole division.”
Tsarukyan Wants Iaquinta Next
The win puts him at 2-1 with the UFC with his only setback coming in his debut last year.
On that occasion, he faced the mighty task of defeating Islam Makhachev and although he suffered a unanimous decision loss, it was still a very competitive, grappling affair.
And now, Tsarukyan wants to test his grappling against someone who faced arguably the best grappler in the sport today in Khabib Nurmagomedov. And that is Al Iaquinta.
“Next fight, I want to fight with top 15, top 10 guys – maybe (Al) Iaquinta because he is a very strong guy and he fought with Khabib Nurmagomedov,” Tsarukyan added. “I want to fight with him because it’s a good fight for me.”
Iaquinta stepped in on short notice to face Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title back in April 2018. Although he had a very few moments of success, he was ultimately dominated by the current champion.
The New Yorker is currently on a two-fight losing streak so it would make some sense for him to face an unranked opponent. However, it is still unlikely as he will undoubtedly look to climb back up the rankings as soon as possible by facing another ranked opponent.
Regardless, would you like to see this fight next?