LAS VEGAS – Arman Tsarukyan is confident he’ll soon fight for the UFC lightweight title if he gets his hand raised on Saturday night.
Tsarukyan (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) takes on former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) on the main card of UFC 300, which goes down at t T-Mobile Arena and streams on pay-per-view.
The promotion has labeled this fight a title eliminator bout, but some think Dustin Poirier, or the winner of the BMF title fight between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway, could potentially get next.
Tsarukyan doesn’t see that happening.
“Yeah, definitely,” Tsarukyan said when asked at Wednesday’s UFC 300 media day if he expects a title shot with a win. “Dana White said whoever wins this one is going to fight for the title, and then I’m next.”
Tsarukyan is grateful for the position that he finds himself in. Not only is he fighting for a shot at champion Islam Makhachev, but also on a historic event.
“It’s a dream come true,” Tsarukyan said. “I’m so excited to be in UFC 300 and be fighting for the No. 1 contender.”
As far as the fight itself, Oliveira hasn’t been too happy with some of Tsarukyan’s comments in the lead-up. Tsarukyan says it’s not personal and it’s just part of the game.
“I mean, I have to talk about him because he doesn’t talk about me, so I have to talk about him,” Tsarukyan said. “I want to get people to watch this fight more, so I have to say something about him. I’m just trying to get more fans to watch this fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
