Damir Ismagulov hopes UFC Fight Night 216 bout vs. Arman Tsarukyan serves as springboard for bigger names

LAS VEGAS – Damir Ismagulov is looking to capitalize on Arman Tsarukyan’s name at UFC Fight Night 216.

Ismagulov (24-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) meets Tsarukyan (18-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Both Ismagulov and Tsarukyan have struggled to draw top-ranked opponents but wound up getting matched up against each other. With Tsarukyan coming off a main event against Mateusz Gamrot in June, Ismagulov thinks a win will lead to more notoriety.

“This fight, for me, is very important, because now that the UFC is giving me such an opportunity, I can show that this fight could be a trampoline for me to make sure that my career goes forward,” Ismagulov told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at UFC Fight Night 216 media day on Wednesday.

He continued, “I was very interested in it right away because he’s a known name in America, he’s fought against Gamrot in a main event, so I think I was very interested right away. It’s good for me to fight an opponent like that.”

Unbeaten in the UFC, Ismagulov is on a 19-fight winning streak. He holds solid wins over Thiago Moises and Guram Kutateladze but sees Tsarukyan as the name that will catapult him to the upper echelon of the division.

“With a victory over an opponent like Arman, I’ll be able to jump into the top 10, possibly the top five,” Ismagulov said. “And from now on, I’ll get opponents that I deserve, opponents that are more interesting to me. So I’m very much happy about this fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 216.