UFC 300 News: Arman Tsarukyan Issues Bold Prediction for Charles Oliveira Fight

Arman Tsarukyan wants to put in a quick night of work when he and Charles Oliveira kick off the main card of UFC 300.

The wait is nearly over for UFC 300, and on a card stacked with sensational fights featuring a number of current and former champions the lightweight clash between Oliveira and Tsarukyan stands out as one of the night’s biggest highlights.

A victory for either man could result in a lightweight title shot, and ahead of the event Tsarukyan told Ariel Helwani that he expects to stop the former champion in the opening round.

“My prediction, it’s a finish in the first round,¨ Tsarukyan said on The MMA Hour. “TKO, done.”

“Do Bronx” rebounded from losing his lightweight belt to Islam Makhachev when he stopped Beneil Dariush at UFC 289, but unfortunately a rematch with Makhachev at UFC 294 had to be scrapped when Oliveira suffered a cut during training.

#2-ranked lightweight contender Justin Gaethje is scheduled to defend his BMF title against Max Holloway at UFC 300, and although “The Highlight” is eager for a crack at Makhachev, he recently conceded that the winner of Oliveira vs. Tsarukyan should fight for the lightweight belt next.

“The winner of that fight fights (Makhachev) in June, then I fight the winner of that in preferably Madison Square Garden in November,” Gaethje told MMA Junkie. “We’ll see if Oliveira s**** the bed again. I think if Tsarukyan wins he takes it because they are calling this a title eliminator, so whoever wins is going to have to fight that fight.”

Oliveira was submitted in the second round when he and Makhachev met in 2022, and that loss ended an incredible 11-fight win streak that included a submission-win over Gaethje at UFC 274.

Tsarukyan famously lost a decision to Makhachev in his UFC debut in 2019, and the fact that Oliveira is also hunting for a rematch with the lightweight king adds extra intrigue to an already sensational matchup that will open the main card of UFC 300 this Saturday.

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