Arman Tsarukyan, the No. 14 ranked lightweight in the UFC, returns to the Octagon this Saturday night when he takes on Christos Giagos in an intriguing matchup between two grappling-based fighters. The 24-year-old Georgian-born Tsarukyan has been a professional MMA fighter since 2015. In that time he has racked up an impressive 16-2 record. In the UFC, Tsarukyan is 3-1 since joining the promotion in 2019. Many analysts believe that Tsarukyan is a future title contender at 155lbs. That title run all starts with a big win over Giagos on the main card of Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 37 event.
Arman Tsarukyan Skills Profile
Tsarukyan is a talented MMA fighter. He is skilled on the ground and on the feet, but he does his best work in the grappling department. Tsarukyan has landed at least one takedown in all four of his UFC fights. In his last outing against Matt Frevola, Tsarukyan hit 10. He gets his opponents down to the mat and is able to control them once he gets them there. He doesn’t have any submission wins in the UFC yet, but he’s gotten plenty in his early pro career. A tapout win could be coming up for him in the UFC soon.
Right now, Tsarukyan is a bonafide top-15 lightweight in the UFC 155lbs division, but he has so much more potential.
As far as his striking goes, Tsarukyan is extremely fast on the feet and he keeps up a decent volume. We haven’t seen much power from him yet. Although he did have a head kick KO win in his last fight in Russia before joining the UFC. We could eventually see him flash some knockout power in the Octagon as well. Overall, I do think that Tsarukyan could be in trouble against a better striker who can keep the fight standing. In general, there are few fighters with the ability to stop Tsarukyan from getting them down. And on the floor, Tsarukyan is about as elite as it gets when it comes to the MMA grappling game.
It’s worth mentioning again, but Tsarukyan is only 24 years old. He has so much time to further his development and get better in this sport. He’s already a damn good fighter as it is, but he will likely continue to improve all his skills. Right now, Tsarukyan is a bonafide top-15 lightweight in the UFC 155lbs division, but he has so much more potential.
Arman Tsarukyan Upside
Tsarukyan has already proven himself to be a capable top-15 fighter in the stacked UFC lightweight division. He has already broken into the rankings in one of the UFC’s deepest divisions. This is proof of how much potential Tsarukyan has in this sport. He is already a good fighter, but he has the potnetial to become one of the best in the world.
Two years ago, Tsarukyan made his UFC debut against Islam Makhachev, and no one was expecting him to be competitive in that fight. But, Tsarukyan wasn’t just competitive. He showed MMA fans in the loss to Makhachev, that he can be a top-flight contender at 155lbs. Although Tsarukyan lost to Makhachev, he has since bounced back with impressive wins over Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Davi Ramos, and Matt Frevola. In all three of those fights, Tsarukyan showed off his elite grappling skills and improving striking. Considering Tsarukyan is just 24, he should continue to improve his game. H has the potential to be a top-five lightweight.
Fight Against Christos Giagos
Tsarukyan enters this fight against Giagos as a massive -800 betting favorite. While Giagos is a monumental +550 underdog. Not only is Tsarukyan a big favorite, but he’s the biggest favorite of anyone who is slated to compete on Saturday’s UFC Vegas 37 card. Giagos is getting somewhat disrespected by bettors and the oddsmakers here. But, the high line on Tsarukyan is more about so many people thinking he could be a future champ.
Giagos is a very good fighter who has more MMA and UFC experience on paper. But, this looks like another fight that Tsarukyan should win. With his combination of strong wrestling skills and his improved striking, expect Tsarukyan to dictate where the fight takes place. While Tsarukyan be careful about leaving his neck exposed against a submission artist, overall he should be the better fighter and therefore he should win the fight. With a win over Giagos, look for Tsarukyan to aim for a top-10 ranked foe in his next fight. Especially after surprisingly accepting this fight against the unranked Giagos.
