UFC CEO Dana White announced that Charles Oliveira will face Arman Tsarukyan in a lightweight bout at UFC 300, with the winner becoming the No. 1 contender for champion Islam Makhachev.
Alright, so here’s the deal. Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan are gearing up for a big one. They’re stepping into the ring for one of the most anticipated events of the year.
Dana White, the big boss at UFC, dropped the news on Sunday. Oliveira and Tsarukyan are squaring off in a lightweight bout at UFC 300. The venue? T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, baby.
But there’s more. The winner of this April 13 showdown gets a shot at the title. They’ll be the No. 1 contender for champ Islam Makhachev. White’s expecting Makhachev to make a comeback in the summer, once he’s recovered from his injury.
Now, here’s a bit of history for ya. Oliveira was supposed to fight Makhachev at UFC 294 last October. But, a last-minute injury during training forced him to step down. He was replaced by featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, who, unfortunately, lost to Makhachev.
Oliveira and Makhachev have a bit of a past. They first clashed at UFC 280 for the vacant lightweight title. Makhachev came out on top, submitting Oliveira in the second round.
Fast forward to June, Oliveira scored a first-round TKO win over Beneil Dariush. This win earned him another shot at Makhachev. But first, he’s gotta get past Tsarukyan.
Tsarukyan’s got his own score to settle with Makhachev. He lost a tough decision to the current champ in his debut five years ago. Since then, Tsarukyan’s been on a roll, winning eight of his last nine fights.
UFC 300’s still looking for a headliner. Some of the advertised fights include Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic, Calvin Kattar vs. Aljamain Sterling, and Bo Nickal vs. Cody Brundage. So, stay tuned, folks!