Arman Tsarukyan will face Charles Oliveira in a No. 1 contender bout at UFC 300 on April 13, with Tsarukyan’s coach, Marcos daMatta, considering Oliveira a more challenging opponent than UFC champion Islam Makhachev.
Arman Tsarukyan is set to face Charles Oliveira. This is a No. 1 contender bout at UFC 300 on April 13. Marcos daMatta, the coach from American Top Team, sees this as a complex challenge for Tsarukyan. He believes Oliveira is a tougher opponent than UFC champ Islam Makhachev.
DaMatta started coaching Tsarukyan just a few months after his loss to Makhachev in 2019. This was a Fight of the Night short-notice decision. DaMatta shared his thoughts on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. He reckons “do Bronx” is “more dangerous” than Makhachev.
DaMatta pointed out Oliveira’s record. “How many decision wins does Charles have? Two, maybe three?” he asked. “This guy is a finisher. He knocks people out, he submits people. He’s extremely dangerous.” He then compared this to Makhachev’s record.
DaMatta himself is a black belt under the legendary grappler Carlson Gracie. He coaches some of the world’s best at American Top Team in Florida. He rates Oliveira as the best submission artist in UFC history. This is over the likes of Royce Gracie and Demian Maia. He also admires Oliveira as a person, calling him “a wonderful human being.”
However, on April 13, DaMatta will do everything he can to help Tsarukyan earn a shot at the 155-pound belt.
DaMatta recalled Tsarukyan’s performance against [Beneil] Dariush. It was a devastating knockout against the No. 4 [lightweight] in the rankings. “For that reason, he earned the right to fight Charles to be the No. 1 contender,” DaMatta said. He doesn’t think it’s fair for Charles, though. He believes Charles has beaten everybody and earned to go straight for the belt.
Tsarukyan has won eight of nine bouts since his loss to Makhachev. This includes stoppages over Joaquim Silva, Christos Giagos, and Joel Alvarez. Oliveira’s only blemish in his 13 UFC appearances since 2017 is also a title loss to Makhachev.
DaMatta acknowledges the challenge ahead for Arman. “It’s an extremely tough fight for Arman,” he said. He sees several problems Arman can bring to Charles. He doesn’t think it will be an easy fight for Charles either.
DaMatta is confident in Tsarukyan’s chances if he rematches Makhachev for UFC gold. He sees his protégé as a better version of the athlete who faced Makhachev in 2019. “[Tsarukyan] was 22 years old and only had wrestling, and he fought Islam on 13 days’ notice. And that was the Fight of the Night,” DaMatta recalled. “Six years later, look at his performances since. He’s grown so much, he’s learned so much in striking and in jiu-jitsu. I see him giving Islam a hard fight. Now, Charles is an extremely dangerous opponent and we have to stay extremely alert for 15 minutes.”