UFC matchmakers move fast.
How fast?
Immediately after Arman Tsarukyan scored a hard-fought split-decision victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 on Saturday night, he was approached backstage by UFC officials to finalize a championship rematch with 155-pound king Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 on June 1.
Tsarukyan’s manager, Sayat Abdrakhmanov, revealed they rejected the offer. The UFC quickly pivoted and swung the deal with Dustin Poirier to challenge Makhachev for his title in the UFC 302 main event.
Here is a video of Abdrakhmanov saying the fight was offered to Tsarukyan.
Tsarukyan has faced Makhachev before.
He lost a split decision to the champion before his reign in April 2019. If Tsarukyan had accepted the fight, he would have to take on Makhachev less than two months after a tough win over Oliveira.
Tsarukyan almost certainly has some minor–at the very least–to recuperate after tangling with Oliveira. Because of that and the magnitude of the fight, he’s probably wise to decline the opportunity.
After watching what happened to fighters in his weight region, like Alexander Volkanovski during fights following quick turnarounds, choosing to face Makhachev less than two months after fighting Oliveira seems like it would be a wrong decision for Tsarukyan.
As it is, Poirier-Makhachev is a fight that will attract MMA fans. Poirier is a future Hall-of-Famer and a fan favorite, and he’s coming off an impressive KO win over Benoit Saint-Denis earlier this year.
Makhachev is the pound-for-pound king, so any of his fights will come with some interest.
Tsarukyan took to X shortly after UFC CEO Dana White announced Poirier-
Tsarukyan probably won’t take another fight in the meantime as he wouldn’t want to risk his spot which figures to be No. 1 after the newest rankings are revealed.
He’ll have a chance to heal up and prepare for the winner of the UFC 302 main event. White also announced Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon for June 29 as the main event of UFC 303.
Sean Strickland vs. Paulo Costa will be the co-main event for UFC 302. The UFC is taking a week off following the explosive UFC 300 card.
The promotion kicks back into action on April 27 with a UFC Apex Fight Night event main evented by Matheus Nicolau and Alex Perez.
