Arman Tsarukyan claims dissenting UFC 300 judge called to apologize, says he'd "kill" if his score tipped scale for Charles Oliveira

Arman Tsarukyan has suggested that he was extremely disappointed with the judge who scored his fight for Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 (April 13, 2024).

Following his three-round lightweight showdown against Oliveira that went the distance, Tsarukyan was awarded the split decision victory on the official judges' scorecards. Judge Adalaide Byrd and Judge Ron McCarthy scored it 29-28 in favor of the Armenian fighter, whereas Judge Mike Bell had it 29-28 for Oliveira.

In a subsequent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Tsarukyan indicated that he strongly disapproved of Judge Mike Bell's score. 'Akhalkalakets' also appeared on UFC legend Daniel Cormier's YouTube channel in an edition of the 'Daniel Cormier Check-In.'

During his conversation with Cormier, Tsarukyan claimed that Judge Bell spoke to his coach and apologized for scoring the fight in favor of Oliveira.

A hot-button topic after the fight has been its third and final round, which has divided fans regarding whether Tsarukyan or Oliveira deserved it more. While the Armenian athlete seemingly controlled most of it, 'Do Bronx' got dangerously close to finishing the fight with a D'Arce choke in that round. The 27-year-old Tsarukyan, who firmly feels he won that round, stated:

"Listen, and one more thing. Yesterday, with [Ariel] Helwani, I talked to [the] referee; he did the mistake on the third round, which he gave to Oliveira ... Yeah, the judge ... No, I didn't talk [to the judge]. My coach talked to him. He called my coach and said, 'Sorry. Yeah. You were right. I wasn't give to Oliveira.' So, he said apologize too for that."

Cormier lightheartedly implied that 'Akhalkalakets' must've felt like killing the judge because of the score. Tsarukyan appeared to jestingly concur and said:

"Yeah, definitely, if I lose this fight, I would kill him. Yeah. He's gonna kill my career. I've been training 10 years, nonstop. Every day, thinking about the fight, cut weight, train, a lot of surgeries, drama. I don't know. All things together. And some judge, maybe he was watching his phone. But now, we're good."

Check out Tsarukyan's comments below (0:00-0:56):

Watch Arman Tsarukyan's complete interview below:

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Arman Tsarukyan fires back at Charles Oliveira's third-round submission claim after UFC 300

While Arman Tsarukyan expressed his disagreement with Judge Mike Bell's scoring of the crucial third round of their UFC 300 fight, Charles Oliveira has shed light on a different aspect of that round.

As highlighted in an ESPN MMA Instagram post, Oliveira revealed why he stuck his tongue out during the D'Arce choke sequence in round three. He thought that Tsarukyan was choked unconscious when he fell flat in the prone position.

Arman Tsarukyan responded by lambasting 'Do Bronx,' labeling the latter's submission claim as "Bullsh**." Furthermore, Tsarukyan is eyeing a rematch against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

However, with Makhachev set to defend his title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 (June 1, 2024), it's believed that Tsarukyan could fight the Makhachev-Poirier winner later this year.