Arman Tsarukyan seems to suggest that Charles Oliveira is one-dimensional.
Tsarukyan (21-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) takes on former lightweight champion Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) at UFC 300 on April 13 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected for ESPN and ESPN+.
Oliveira is the UFC’s all-time leader in submission wins. His most recent win was a first-round TKO finish of Beneil Dariush at UFC 289. Despite showing off his well-rounded finishing abilities, Tsarukyan doesn’t appear threatened.
“Charles is good at one thing: taking his opponent’s back and choking him out from that position,” Tsarukyan said in a translated interview with Red Corner MMA. “He has long limbs, so he’s good at taking the back, locking the triangle and finishing the submission. But overall, he’s nothing special.”
Oliveira scored recent rear-naked choke finishes of Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje in title fights. Tsarukyan thinks that’s the only thing he has to be wary about when it comes to Oliveira’s ground game.
“Yes, he has some tricks when pulling guard, but nothing extraordinary,” Tsarukyan said. “He’s got a great back-mount game where he chokes everybody out. This morning, we worked on these types of situations – what I should do if I get caught in that position. We’re working on it, but we shouldn’t let this happen in the fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
UFC 300’s Arman Tsarukyan: Charles Oliveira only good at one thing and ‘nothing special’