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Arman Tsarukyan and Islam Makhachev went to war at UFC Fight Night 149 in 2019 in the Russian-Armenian's promotional debut.
The pair are now set to fight for a second time when they meet in the octagon at UFC 311 for the lightweight title. Makhachev will be hoping to break his friend and teammate, Khabib Nurmagomedov's record of three consecutive UFC lightweight title defenses.
But, ahead of the bout, the title challenger has shared a fascinating insight into what he learned from his first fight with the current champion. In an interaction with ESPN MMA, he said:
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"He's not as good as people think... I mean, people think he's unbeatable, crazy wrestling. But I took him down when I was 22 years old, so."
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Check out Arman Tsarukyan discuss Islam Makhachev below (4:45):
Nurmagomedov will feature in Makhachev's corner against Tsaruyan in January. However, the UFC 311 co-main event will feature a bantamweight title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov. With 'The Eagle' set to corner Nurmagomedov against Dvalishvili, the former lightweight champion will be in for a busy night.
Islam Makhachev gains confidence from Arman Tsarukyan's fight with Charles Oliveira
UFC 300 saw an epic lightweight clash between Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan, an official title eliminator bout. 'Do Bronx' suffered a split-decision defeat, but the Brazilian nearly finished the fight in Round 1 after catching his opponent in a tight guillotine choke.
Tsarukyan admitted that he totally forgot his gameplan against Oliveira after nearly being submitted in the first-round, a lesson he hopes to carry into his title fight with Islam Makhachev at UFC 311.
But, Makhachev has also taken something from the 28-year-old's fight against Oliveira, namely confidence. A snippet of Makhachev's recent interview with ESPN MMA was uploaded to X by @Home_of_Fight, where he said:
"The first fight, I don't know his background. He defends my wrestling. He gives me just - he is tough, that's why he gave me hard time, but now I know everything what he can do... I think, yes [I will submit him]. You know, Charles, every round, almost finish him. Do some guillotine, do some triangle choke, everything very close, but I think I have more chance."
Check out Islam Makhachev's comments below:
