Las Vegas, NV — Following a decision win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300, Arman Tsarukyan is now the bonafide number one contender at lightweight.
He just won’t be fighting for a title next.
Following Tsarukyan’s fight at the massive event inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, 155lb champ Islam Makhachev took to social media to post “see you soon, boy” without naming Arman directly.
During his post-fight press conference appearance, Tsarukyan (22-3) sent the same message in return. “See you soon, boy.” But later in the night, UFC President and CEO Dana White announced that it would be Dustin Poirier facing Makhachev at UFC 302 in June.
Tsarukyan will wait for the winner it seems.
Still, there was reason to be elated on Saturday. Arman Tsarukyan will get a title shot, the culmination of a lengthy journey. “That was so long a journey, to get here, to beat [the] number one contender. Especially on UFC 300, it’s the best feeling,” he stated.
An early Charles Oliveira guillotine, “it was tight,” Tsarukyan also admitted.
There was also an incident with a fan during Tsarukyan’s walkout, during which he threw a couple of punches at a man apparently giving him the finger.
Arman Tsarukyan punched a fan during his walkout to fight Charles Oliveira 😅 pic.twitter.com/DMoX27o8H1
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) April 14, 2024
“He showed me ‘f*ck’ and wanted to punch me, and I wanted to punch him back. That’s it,” said Tsarukyan, who endured considerable disrespect at a Q&A in Miami a month earlier. “Guys, no one shows me ‘f*ck you,’ it doesn’t matter who you are, I’m going to punch you in the face. You can show me ‘f*ck’ from 200 meters, I’m not going to punch you, but when you’re close to me, it’s like automatically. I’m from Russia, don’t do that please, or I’m going to go to prison in the U.S.”
Watch the full UFC 300 post-fight press conference appearance by Arman Tsarukyan above.
