That’s not true. The truth is that you suddenly want to fight me and get an advantage. But it won’t happen again. When was the last time you fought twice in six weeks? @MAKHCHEVMMA
https://t.co/c7wTudvyRL
— Arman Tsarukyan UFC (@ArmanUfc)
April 24, 2024
Arman Tsarukyan has hit back at Islam Makhachev after the champion recently accused him of being deceived by the “Akhar Karakets”.
Tsarukian (22-3) scored an impressive split decision victory over former champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 300, which was essentially a title fight.
Immediately after his victory, Tsarukyan was offered a title fight against Makhachev at UFC 302 on June 1st. Tsarukyan declined, citing short notice, and his bid went to Dustin Poirier.
When asked about Tsarukyan refusing the shot, Makhachev claimed that he had already expected it since the Armenian-Russian had refused the shot many times in the past.
“I’m not surprised. [he turned it down] ‘Cause this guy’s been talking about a rematch all his life, but I don’t remember, this is probably the third or fourth time the UFC has given him a chance to fight me and he said no. Makhachev told New York Post Sports. “The UFC told me, ‘We’re going to give you an opponent after UFC 300,’ but in my opinion, if Arman beats Oliveira, he can win.” [would] Never join this fight. ”
Tsarukyan lost a unanimous decision to Makhachev in his UFC debut in 2019, giving the Dagestan the victory. Reacting to Makhachev’s comments, Tsarukyan accused the champion of demanding the match at short notice in order to gain an unfair advantage.
“That’s not true.” The 27-year-old wrote to X: (Formerly known as Twitter). “The truth is, you want to fight me on short notice to get an advantage. But that won’t happen again. When was the last time you fought twice in six weeks?”
