A small untoward incident took place amidst the excitement of UFC 300 during Arman Tsarukyan’s walkout. The Armenian UFC lightweight suddenly threw a punch and rushed at a fan who was seated in the front row. Thankfully, UFC security soon barged in and Tsarukyan was able to make his way to the octagon.
Recently, Arman Tsarukyan sat down with Daniel Cormier for an interview where the latter compared his fan incident to the infamous altercation between Khabib ‘The Eagle’ Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor’s entourage, Artem Lobov. Cormier sparked the discussion on this topic by saying,
“You remember when Khabib grabbed the guy who was with Conor Mcgregor [Artem Lobov]? He slapped the guy because he talked too much. You punched the fan, so there’s a lot of similarity in [both of] your minds.“
Tsarukyan agreed to this, claiming their responses were fueled by their Russian roots. Incidentally, Reports claim Khabib slapped Lobov amidst the altercation. This is exactly why McGregor stormed the Barclays Center in Brooklyn after UFC 223 and caused the shocking ‘steel dolly thrown at the bus’ incident.
While Khabib may have retired from the UFC in 2020, his bosom friend, Islam Makhachev, has kept his legacy alive. On top of it, a fight between him and Tsarukyan also seems to be inevitable.
Like Tsarukyan, Makhachev’s mentality resembles Khabib in a lot of ways. Hence, the fight between ‘Ahalkalakets’ and Makhachev is expected to be a test of their mental strengths along with their physical prowess.
Is Arman Tsarukyan’s mental frame strong enough to beat Islam Makhachev?
Although top fighters like Charles Oliveira were confident about their chances, Islam Makhchev wasted no time in forcing them to taste the dust. The Dagestani’s well-rounded skillset also helps him break his in-octagon rivals’ mental resilience, resulting in his victory.
However, Tsarukyan’s confidence is on cloud nine right now. The 27-year-old became the top UFC lightweight title contender from an inferior rank in just two fights. At the same time, he must not forget the lessons that he learned from his previous loss against Makhachev.
Hence, the Armenian must work on his mental and physical resilience, while also studying Makhachev’s past strategies to redeem himself.
