Arman Tsarukyan earned the first win of his UFC career by pulling off the upset over Olivier Aubin-Mercier in enemy territory.
The Canadian Gangster had his back to the wall entering into UFC 240 on Saturday night in Edmonton. In the main card scrap against Arman Tsarukyan, Olivier Aubin-Mercier was on the first losing streak of his career, albeit a relatively meager two losses. He was also on the final fight of his UFC deal, meaning a win, and particularly an exciting one would be key to his future.
Tsarukyan, for his part, had fallen in his debut against fellow Russian Islam Makhachev at UFC St. Petersburg in April. Although a Fight of the Night, the lightweight told us earlier this week that the money didn’t take away the sting of defeat.
Arman opened the first round by immediately shooting for a takedown. OAM fought it off, and they separated. Arman continued to be tenacious with his pressure and looked for a takedown but couldn’t get it, again. OAM landed a big knee on Arman, but Arman soon took him down and got his back. OAM got back to his feet for a second, then was taken back down. Arman spent the rest of the round keeping OAM down and hitting him with hard knees up until the final seconds, where Aubin-Mercier was able to get back to his feet.
The two traded on the feet early in the second before Arman looked for a takedown, but he couldn’t get it. OAM landed a nice one-two combination, then landed a flying knee flush on Arman that rocked him. However Arman didn’t let OAM get space to land more strikes, and the two soon returned to their feet where he recovered. The two would then spend the majority of the round striking, where OAM landed some nice combinations, however, Arman was the one always pushing forward.
Huge knees 😱
🇨🇦 @OliAubin #UFC240 pic.twitter.com/CdgnRH0yWN
— UFC (@ufc) July 28, 2019
Arman landed two extremely powerful right hands prior to dropping down for a takedown at the start of the third round. OAM fought it off and soon closed the distance to look for a takedown of his own. However, Arman would reverse it, and end up in OAM’s guard. OAM spent the rest of the round on his back, throwing elbows, along with one failed triangle attempt. Arman would also land some shots from the top, which ultimately led to him getting the decision victory.
It was the first UFC victory of Arman’s career. At only 22 years old, he looks to be one of the brightest prospects at lightweight.
Arman Tsaurkyan def Olivier Aubin-Mercier via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
