Tag: arman tsarukyan

Suffering a close, split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) loss to Arman Tsarukyan on the main card of UFC 300 last weekend, former lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira claims he was convinced the Armenian was out cold late into the fight, courtesy of his D’Arce choke.

Oliveira, a former undisputed lightweight titleholder, slumped to number two in the official lightweight pile off the back of his judging loss to Tsarukyan at UFC 300 – with the former replacing him atop the tree at 155 pounds.

Dropping a close, debated decision loss to the American Top Team staple, Oliveira admitted he went very close with a trio of submissions in each of his three rounds against Tsarukyan – struggling with a first round guillotine, a late second frame triangle armbar from his back, and a notable D’Arce choke in the dying embers of the last round.

And according to him, Oliveira revealed that as far as he thought, Tsarukyan had been choked unconscious during the D’Arce attempt, with the Armenian contender defending by starfishing and bellying out from the bottom before the klaxon sounded.

Charles Oliveira argues for decision win at UFC 300

Arguing his case for a win due to his activity and search for numerous submissions, Oliveira admitted he thought that he had choked out Tsarukyan before the end of the final round.

“30 seconds [left in the fight], it was tight, one of the submissions I like the most, D’Arce choke,” Charles Oliveira told Canal Encarada during a recent interview. “I thought he (Arman Tsarukyan) went out, that’s why I had my tongue out, joking, you know? But I don’t know, it’s part of the game.”

“I had to finish him,” Charles Oliveira explained. “It went to the judges, and it’s their call, there’s nothing we can do. If you go back tot the first round, you’ll see I tired to finish him more and they scored it for me. The second one was closer and I ended up with a triangle choke locked in, and they gave it to him. The third, he was on top, holding me there, but wasn’t doing Jiu-Jitsu or anything, and I finished with a choke locked in, and they still have it to him. There’s not much we can do.” (H/T MMA Fighting)

Seeing himself dislodged from the number one rank at lightweight, Oliveira assured his fans that the lion inside of him is “still hungry” to return to the summit of the division once more.

Who would you like to see Charles Oliveira fight next after UFC 300?

Former undisputed lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira has spoken for the first time since his close, split decision loss to surging contender, Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 300 over the course of the weekend, vowing to come back stronger to the Octagon, claiming he had opportunities to both submit and knock out the Armenian.

Oliveira, the promotion’s most prolific finisher, made his return to the Octagon on the main card of UFC 300 over the course of the weekend, suffering a close, debated split judging (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) loss to the above-mentioned, Tsarukyan – in a toss up bout according to many fans and pundits.

Likely losing his slot atop the lightweight rankings as the number one contender, Sao Paulo finishing favorite, Charles Oliveira almost wrapped up an opening round arm-in guillotine choke on Tsarukyan – with the wily contender fighting his way out to break the grip.

However, according to decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach, Rener Gracie, Tsarukyan’s choice to sport a loose fitting Muay Thai style fight kit to the event aided in his escape from the position, with the kit actually sliding down his legs as Oliveira attempted to lock in a guillotine.

Sliced in the second round due a series of elbows from Tsarukyan after a continued period of crushing top pressure, Oliveira almost once again forced the issue with less than a minute remaining in the final round.

Managing to scramble from the bottom, Oliveira locked in a taut D’Arce choke on Tsarukyan, who managed to belly out and survive to the buzzer to land himself a close split decision victory over the Brazilian.

Charles Oliveira vows to return after UFC 300 defeat

And sharing his thoughts on the loss, Oliveira, a former undisputed lightweight champion admitted that it just wasn’t meant to be for him against the Armenian contender in their official title-eliminator.

“Passing by to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart,” Charles Oliveira said on his official social media, as translated from Portuguese to English via EzDubs.ai. “Today was a tough fight. I had the opportunity to submit and even knock out and I ended up not meeting [either]. I’m fine, I took a few dots in my my eyes, I’m a little swollen, but I’ve also cried, that’s part of it. It won’t change, just go back home, devoting myself to training and staying near my family.”

“And I hope you continue cheering and vibrating with what I’m experiencing here,” Charles Oliveira continued. “Thank you. A big thank you from the bottom of my heart. What can I promise? I’ll come back stronger. That’s it, it’s the game, there’s not much to do. I had a wonderful field, I had a wonderful week here with my weight loss, but today wasn’t the day, it wasn’t meant to be.”

Off the back of his victory over Oliveira, Tsarukyan is expected to fight for lightweight spoils next, however, must first lay in wait as Islam Makhachev defends his championship in a clash against former interim gold holder, Dustin Poirier at the beginning of June in a UFC 302 headlining clash. 

Who’s next for Charles Oliveira after his UFC 300 defeat?

Surging Armenian contender, Arman Tsarukyan continues his route to a title fight rematch against incumbent gold holder, Islam Makhachev on the main card of UFC 300 tonight — turning in a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) win over former undisputed lightweight champion and fan-favorite, Charles Oliveira.

Tsarukyan, fresh from a December win over common-foe, Beneil Dariush in the pair’s UFC Fight Night Austin main event, stopped the Iranian-born veteran with a first round knockout, after Oliveira had finished the former back in June of last year in a first round ground strikes TKO success.

And finding himself in immediate danger against the most prolific finisher in Octagon antiquity, Arman Tsarukyan fought from an arm-in guillotine choke against against Oliveira to survive the opening round.

However, slicing through Oliveira in the second frame, Tsarukyan bloodied the Brazilian in a close fight, with the Sao Paulo finisher rallying the third and final round.

Finding himself on the receiving end of another takedown from Tsarukyan in the third round, Oliviera almost locked up a D’Arce choke submission the final thirty seconds of the bout, before running out of time — and dropping his second loss in his three most recent outings.

Following his win, Tsarukyan called for a title fight rematch with the above-mentioned, Makhachev — in a re-run of their 2015 showdown.

Below, catch the highlights from Arman Tsarukyan’s decision win over Charles Oliveira