Tsarukyan claims statement win

Arman Tsarukyan claimed a statement win over Beneil Dariush in the lightweight main event of a UFC Fight Night at the Moody Centre in Austin, Texas, on the morning of Sunday 3 December 2023.

The 27-year-old Armenian secured a third successive win – and an eighth from his last nine walks to the Octagon – by overpowering Dariush in the first major exchange of the match.

A big right hand thrown in breaking away from a clinch sent Dariush to the canvas – Tsarukyan then landed a few punches after following Dariush to the ground, leaving his opponent unconscious and ‘Akhalkalakets’ the victor with just 1:04 on the clock.

“Sure, I was expecting a knockout," Tsarukyan said. "I told you guys, I don't want to win by decision or whatever. I just wanted to knock him out, go home and get that title fight.”

Tsarukyan is hoping for a rematch with division champion Islam Makhachev, who defeated him via unanimous decision when the pair met in 2019.

“Islam is a different level fighter," Tsarukyan said. "We fought four years ago and I was 22, now I'm 27. Next fight is going to be a different one. I'm going to knock him out, that's it.”

The rest of the main card saw Jalin Turner make quick work of Bobby Green in the lightweight co-main event; Deiveson Figueiredo outpointed Rob Font across three rounds of their bantamweight fight; Sean Brady submitted fellow welterweight Kelvin Gastelum; Joaquim Silva outpointed Clay Guida over three rounds in the lightweight category; and Dustin Stoltzfus submitted Punahele Soriano in the second round of their middleweight opener.

The next UFC event is a Fight Night scheduled for the morning of Sunday 10 December 2023 at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas, headlined by a bantamweight main event between Song Yadong and Chris Gutierrez.

UFC Fight Night: Dariush v Tsarukyan main card results

- Main event:Lightweight:Arman Tsarukyan def. Beneil Dariush via KO (knee and punches) R1, 1:04

- Lightweight:Jalin Turner def. Bobby Green via KO (punches), R1, 2:49

- Bantamweight:Deiveson Figueiredo def. Rob Font via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 30-27), R3, 5:00

- Welterweight:Sean Brady def. Kelvin Gastelum via submission (kimura), R3, 1:43

- Lightweight:Joaquim Silva def. Clay Guida via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00

- Middleweight:Dustin Stoltzfus def. Punahele Soriano via submission (rear-naked choke), R2, 4:10