Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot will have a potentially thrilling showdown when they meet in a lightweight main event of a UFC Fight Night at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on Sunday, 26 June.
Tsarukyan (18-2) comes into the match having put together a five-fight winning streak which began in July 2019 and most recently brought a TKO victory over Joel Alvarez in February of this year.
The 25-year-old Russian-Armenian is looking to crack the top 10 of the division rankings and has hinted that he will unleash his kicking power and outdo Michael Chandler’s stunning recent KO of Tony Ferguson.
“I would like to fight more than three rounds, honestly. Because I haven’t had experience more than three rounds. I want to beat him in maybe fourth round, to stop him, like KO. I know it’s gonna be good KO,” claimed Tsarukyan.
“I have been doing this kick since two years or three years, but I never throw during a fight. This is gonna be the first time when I throw that kick. It’s gonna be surprising… More better [than Chandler’s KO of Ferguson].”
Tsarukyan added, “He’s a very good fight for me. He’s a ranked guy. He is confident, he doesn’t scare. He is like me, he is man, he wants to fight with everybody.
“But he knows I am a very bad match up for him. I have a lot more experience than him in the UFC… [His last] three fights, he beat easy [opponents].”
Gamrot (20-1, 1 NC) has secured three wins on the bounce, most recently defeating Carlos Diego Ferreira with a second-round TKO in December of 2021.
The 31-year-old Pole, known as ‘Gamer’, is a former flyweight and lightweight champion in the KSW Polish MMA series but both he and Tsarukyan will be making their main event, five-round debuts in the UFC.
“I have adjusted my training now,” said Gamrot. “I am doing more than before. We have changed the game plan, we have to be more patient during the fight. It's a different game.”
The rest of the main card features a welterweight battle between Neil Magny v Shavkat Rakhmonov; Josh Parisian v Alan Baudot in the heavyweight division; Thiago Moises and Christos Giagos will face off in a lightweight clash; Nate Maness takes on Umar Nurmagomedov in the bantamweight division; and a middleweight opener between Chris Curtis and Rodolfo Vieira.
UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot – Main card
- Main event: Lightweight: Arman Tsarukyan v Mateusz Gamrot
- Welterweight: Neil Magny v Shavkat Rakhmonov
- Heavyweight: Josh Parisian v Alan Baudot
- Lightweight: Thiago Moises v Christos Giagos
- Bantamweight: Nate Maness v Umar Nurmagomedov
- Middleweight: Chris Curtis v Rodolfo Vieira