{"id":5067,"date":"2024-12-24T11:48:05","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T10:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/?p=5067"},"modified":"2024-12-25T12:42:22","modified_gmt":"2024-12-25T11:42:22","slug":"arman-tsarukyan-the-ultimate-challenge-against-islam-makhachev-begins-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/arman-tsarukyan-the-ultimate-challenge-against-islam-makhachev-begins-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Arman Tsarukyan: The Ultimate Challenge Against Islam Makhachev Begins Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\ud83d\udd25 <strong>&#8220;I took him down before&#8230; and I\u2019ll do it again.&#8221;<\/strong> With this confidence, Arman Tsarukyan heads into the highly anticipated rematch against reigning champion Islam Makhachev.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The Upcoming Battle: A Dream for the Belt<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On <strong>January 18<\/strong>, during the main event of <strong>UFC 311<\/strong>, Arman Tsarukyan will face the seemingly unbeatable champion, Islam Makhachev, in a showdown fueled by vengeance and ambition.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The First Encounter: A Memory That Lingers<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The two fighters first clashed on <strong>April 20, 2019<\/strong>, in an exceptional bout that earned &#8220;Fight of the Night&#8221; honors. Despite losing by unanimous decision, Tsarukyan proved himself as a worthy competitor, notably taking Makhachev down at just 22 years old.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>What Has Changed Since 2019?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><strong>Islam Makhachev<\/strong>: Riding an incredible <strong>14-fight win streak<\/strong>, Makhachev has solidified his dominance in the lightweight division. His latest victim was Dustin Poirier, whom he submitted at <strong>UFC 302<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Arman Tsarukyan<\/strong>: Rapidly ascending the ranks, Tsarukyan earned the No. 1 contender spot with a thrilling split-decision victory over Charles Oliveira at <strong>UFC 300<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Tsarukyan\u2019s Confidence and Determination<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking to ESPN, Tsarukyan shared his thoughts on the upcoming bout:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;He\u2019s not as good as people think. I took him down when I was just 22 years old. Now, I\u2019m stronger, hungrier, and have a long-standing dream: the UFC belt.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He added:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;What sets me apart now is my relentless passion and the energy I pour into my training. This is not just another fight; this is my chance to change my life forever.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_27987\"  width=\"696\" height=\"391\"  data-origwidth=\"696\" data-origheight=\"391\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Yv0PfH328Bw?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>A Dream Come True?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">For Arman Tsarukyan, reaching this point is no accident. Hard work, determination, and technical evolution have made him one of the top contenders in the lightweight division.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The Key Question: Can Arman Tsarukyan Break Islam Makhachev\u2019s Streak?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As the event approaches, the debate intensifies:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Will Tsarukyan be the one to end Makhachev\u2019s reign of dominance in the lightweight division?<\/li>\n<li>Or will the Dagestani champion continue to etch his name in the annals of combat sports history?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The Must-See Showdown<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>UFC 311<\/strong>, the event fight fans around the world have been waiting for, promises to be one of the greatest battles in lightweight history.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>January 18<\/strong> will determine the fate of the belt and perhaps reshape the division\u2019s competitive landscape.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_42365\"  width=\"696\" height=\"391\"  data-origwidth=\"696\" data-origheight=\"391\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rXtSfPm5bP8?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Are we witnessing the rise of a new champion? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83d\udd25 &#8220;I took him down before&#8230; and I\u2019ll do it again.&#8221; With this confidence, Arman Tsarukyan heads into the highly anticipated rematch against reigning champion Islam Makhachev. The Upcoming Battle: A Dream for the Belt On January 18, during the main event of UFC 311, Arman Tsarukyan will face the seemingly unbeatable champion, Islam Makhachev, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,86,21,91],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"category-mma-video","9":"category-ufc-news","10":"category-ufc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5067"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5067"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5069,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5067\/revisions\/5069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}