Top-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight contenders, Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan, went to war tonight (Sat., April 13, 2024) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, at UFC 300.
And Justin Gaethje’s 155-pound title shot was on the line.
Both fighters came into “Sin City” red-hot — Oliveira demolished Beneil Dariush in his most recent appearance (watch it), while Tsarukyan did the exact same. Both fighters also have history with reigning division kingpin, Islam Makhachev, so all the stars aligned for the winner.
And, after 15 minutes of back-and-forth action, Tsarukyan did just enough to eke out an unpopular split decision win after almost being tapped in the first and third rounds.
Both fighters walked to the center of the Octagon and looked to trade right away, but then Arman dove in for a takedown 30 seconds into the bout, which Oliveira stuffed and then jumped on an arm-in, standing guillotine. Both fighters were dry and fresh, making it a dire situation for Arman — the choke was so tight. He gutted through it and was somehow able to roll out, but Oliveira landed in full-mount. He drilled him with hard elbow as Arman tried to buck and get out from underneath “Do Bronx.” Then, somehow, he was able to reverse position and ended up in top position midway through the first round. Arman landed a big elbow of his own from the top, but Oliveira was landing some nice chip shots off his back. Oliveira really did a great job of tying up his arms, nullifying the offense that Arman could mount. Then, with about one minute left in the round, Oliveira uncorked an upkick that hit Arman’s shoulder, but grazed his face right after, forcing a a brief stoppage so the ringside physician could look him over real quick. On the restart, both fighters landed hard, short elbows as Oliveira appeared to be angling for a submission off his back. Strong round early for Oliveira, with Arman having success in the latter half.
Both fighters embraced to start the second stanza after the inadvertent foul in the first frame. Oliveira landed a hard shot to start the action, but Arman was more than game, responding with a wild running axe kick along the fence. Arman was then hunting for a takedown right after, but the pair stalled along the fence as Oliveira once again threatened with a choke. It never materialized, though, with Arman eventually securing the takedown midway through the round. Once again, though, he couldn’t really do much with the position — Oliveira was super active off his back and did a tremendous job of tying up Arman’s hands so he couldn’t mount much offense. With about one minute remaining in the round, though, Arman finally broke through Oliveira’s defenses, landing multiple hard elbows the sliced open the Brazilian’s forehead, turning his bleach-blonde hair … red. Oliveira locked up a nice triangle at the buzzer, but it was too little too late.
It was seemingly one round apiece heading into the third and final frame. Whoever could put together the better five minutes, would more than likely earn a rematch with the aforementioned Makhachev this summer. The action was pretty even for the first 2.5 minutes, but then Arman got in on another takedown midway through the round, essentially sealing the deal. Oliveira bucked and tried to get to his feet, but Arman just jumped on his back and continued to ride out the high profile bout. But, in an instant, Oliveira was out and suddenly in control, ending the bout with Arman trapped in a tight d’arce choke. It was too little, too late, though, with the judges awarding Arman the biggest win of his career to date.
Final result: Tsarukyan def. Oliveira via split decision
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