"Big opportunity" - Arman Tsarukyan discusses challenging Charles Oliveira for shot at Islam Makhachev's UFC lightweight championship

Capturing the lightweight title is Arman Tsarukyan’s ultimate goal in the UFC but he is completely focused on the Charles Oliveira fight at the moment.

Tsarukyan is coming off an impressive 64-second knockout win over Beneil Dariush in his most recent fight. Currently the No.5-ranked fighter in the lightweight division, Tsarukyan will face former champion and No.1-ranked Charles Oliveira in a title eliminator bout at UFC 300.

The 27-year-old has an unsettled business with the reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. During an exclusive interview on Daniel Cormier and Chris Weidman’s podcast, Tsarukyan confirmed that he will get a shot at Makhachev’s title if he gets past Oliveira on April 13:

“When Dana says like that, it’s 100 percent [true].”

He then spoke about the fight against ‘Do Bronx’ and what the opportunity means for him:

“Hopefully, I beat Charles Oliveira [by] first-round knockout and then get the Islam fight for the title. Can’t wait for that moment but first of all, I got to think about this fight because it’s so important fight for me. Big fight for me, big opportunity!”

Watch Tsarukyan’s interaction with Daniel Cormier and Chris Weidman below (22:20):

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Arman Tsarukyan reveals the reason for choosing Charles Oliveira as an opponent

Arman Tsarukyan rose to prominence in his UFC debut against Islam Makhachev in 2019. The then-22-year-old handed Makhachev one of the toughest fights of his career and the potential rematch has intrigued fight fans during Tsarukyan’s rise through the lightweight division.

Speaking about why he targetted Charles Oliveira as the next opponent, Tsarukyan said that defeating the former champion would be his shortest path to the title.

"When I talked to my manager, told him the best-case scenario is going to be a fight with Charles Oliveira and then fight for the title with Islam and I wanted UFC 300 and I got it. So, I'm so happy. I'm so excited to fight in UFC 300 and especially with former champion Charles Oliveira. So, it's super exciting, you know? And I want to say thank you to the UFC for that opportunity."

Meanwhile, Do Bronx has not competed since defeating Beneil Dariush in July 2023. His coach Diego Lima revealed that they accepted the Tsarukyan fight to avoid having long periods of inactivity.