Arman Tsarukyan seems to be working on his ground game with Khamzat Chimaev ahead of the Islam Makhachev lightweight title fight. The pair are currently filming the Russian version of The Ultimate Fighter and a clip of them grinding is now going viral.
Khamzat Chimaev almost choked out Arman Tsarukyan.
IG hype.fighting▫️ pic.twitter.com/HuQeyjtE5B
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) November 27, 2024
After watching a clip of the two grappling, Makhachev’s fans are now concerned about whether this could spell danger for the champ since the #1 contender already has a formidable ground game.
This fan, concerned after seeing Tsarukyan actually matching up well with Borz, said, “could be bad news for Islam if Arman keeps grappling with khamzat“. Another fan spoke about how good Tsarukyan is on the ground, “Heavyweight Khamzat can’t choke out Arman, just shows good the kid is“. One fan had an entirely different opinion of the grappling session and for some reason claimed, “Dana gonna sue these MFs lol“.
Although the fight is yet to be officially announced, it is widely expected that Tsarukyan will be the one to fight Makhachev next and it maybe as early as January 2025.
Islam vs. Arman rumors rage on
Makhachev’s manager Rizvan Magomedov, in an interview with Ushatayka spoke about how his team was in contact with the UFC for a January 18 date for their next title defense and said,
“No, the contract has not been signed yet. For now, we’re preparing for January 18. We were given the date, and we accepted it. We assume it will be Tsarukyan. Khabib will be in Islam’s corner, for sure.”
The Armenian has been talking a lot of trash towards the champion claiming he will beat him. So Makhachev and his team will be eager to wipe away any doubts the fans have about his legitimacy as a champion.
The two have previously fought on short notice and while it was a close fight back then, both fighters were in the infancy of their MMA education and have since evolved into far more dangerous fighters.
Makhachev, especially has added dirty boxing to his game and has managed to out strike the likes of Dustin Poirier before. So Tsarukyan, despite his time with Borz on the ground might find himself get clocked going for takedowns to begin with. Either way, Tsarukyan vs Makhachev willl be great way to start the new year for the UFC.
