The only man to defeat Islam Makhachev is a valuable asset to Arman Tsarukyan’s camp.
Adriano Martins, who knocked out the current UFC lightweight champion in October 2015, traveled to Brazil to help Tsarukyan prepare for his main event against Makhachev at UFC 311 on January 18 in Los Angeles. He traveled to American Top Team from Manaus, Amazonas.
“Palumpa-sama” [Marcos DaMatta] I play similar to Islam and I believe I can help Armand a lot in this camp. “I have a fight in Russia on December 27th, so they invited me to camp here at ATT,” the 42-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt told Sherdog.com.
After training daily with Tsarukyan for a month, Martins believes his teammate has the potential to defeat Makhachev. Tsarukyan initially faced Makhachev in his Octagon debut, but lost by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 149 on April 20, 2019.
“Arman has a very consistent game. His hitting is great, his wrestling is great, he’s at a very high level on the ground. And he never tires, like Islam,” Martins said. I truly believe that if Armand does everything he’s been practicing under coach Palumpa, he’ll be the second man to beat Makhachev. And now he’s got the belt. ”
After nearly three years away from the MMA world in Manaus, Martins returned to his training routine in March of this year when he received an offer to fight Donovan Desmae under the Kongs Fighting Championship banner. Despite not being in the best condition, Martins won a split decision and hasn’t stopped training since. He is scheduled to face Bellator MMA veteran Alexander Sarnavsky at AMC Fight Night 126 in Moscow in about a week and a half.
“That win gave me a lot of motivation, so I came to ATT and started focusing on my physical side. ATT has all the regime and great sparring partners, so I’m ready to go. I can say it is done,” he said. Have a great match with Sarnavsky in Russia on December 27th. ”
