‘Don’t Believe Him’: Islam Makhachev Calls Out Arman Tsarukyan for Breaking Promise in Charles Oliveira Fight

Islam Makhachev has called out Tsarukyan for not keeping his word, reminding fans that Arman promised to finish Charles Oliveira—but didn’t deliver when they actually fought. It appears the Dagestani champion is the one to start the trash talk before their title fight at UFC 311. Who would have thought?

Makhachev is now using Tsarukyan’s failure to finish Oliveira to urge everyone to take all his bold claims with a grain of salt. 

In an interview, Makhachev playfully poked fun at Arman and said, 

“Before the fight Arman promised everyone to knock him out (Oliveira). But it means don’t believe Arman what he says. It was a close fight but most of the fight Arman take him down and control him. I think Arman deserved but it was a close fight.”

In their UFC 300 showdown, Tsarukyan and Oliveira delivered an electrifying battle that had fans on the edge of their seats. Tsarukyan showcased his resilience by surviving multiple submission attempts from Oliveira, who holds the UFC record for both submission and stoppage victories.

Despite Oliveira’s relentless offense, Tsarukyan maintained his composure and executed a strategic game plan, securing a pivotal takedown in the second round. The bout was a back-and-forth affair, with both fighters having their moments, but Tsarukyan’s ability to withstand Oliveira’s submission threats and his effective striking ultimately earned him a hard-fought split decision victory.

This win propelled Tsarukyan further up the lightweight rankings, ultimately earning him a shot against the champion. This will be his second fight against Makhachev. The two had gone to war back in 2019 in a back-and-forth match, with Makhachev securing a win.

However, Tsarukyan had managed to get a few takedowns on Islam; something the champion hasn’t been able to live down to this day. 

Makhachev wants to silence all the doubters 

When he defends the title for the fourth time at UFC 311, the lightweight champ wants more than just a win—he’s aiming for a finish to silence any doubters, just like he did in his rematch with Alexander Volkanovski.  

 Makhachev has claimed he knows exactly what to expect from Tsarukyan.

He admitted he might’ve underestimated Arman the first time around, but now he’s ready to shut down the conversations about how well Tsarukyan would have done with a full camp against him. 

If he manages to finish Tsarukyan, it will open up the options for him to move up or down in weight to challenge for the elusive second title.