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Arman Tsarukyan will not let anything get in the way of his fight with UFC lightweight champ Ilia TOPURIA. Tsarukyan was a favorite to win the lightweight title against Islam Makhachev, but he pulled out on short notice. The UFC and fans were not happy with him. Tsarukyan redeemed his reputation with the promotion in part by competing as a back-up fighter to Topuria and Charles Oliveira. His redemption was completed by defeating the lower ranked Hooker.In his post-fight interviews, Tsarukyan stated that Hooker was the only fighter who had expressed interest in fighting him. “Everyone ran, including Ilia. We need to fight if you are here. There is only one contender for the No. Arman Tsarukyan, the No. “Don’t book a fight that is easy.”
Topuria who was in Qatar cornering Aleksandre Topuria on the undercard refused Tsarukyan’s fight. Topuria’s absence is not clear, nor is it known if he was at cageside. It’s also unclear if this was Topuria’s decision, or if the UFC made the call. “The Hangman”, as he is known, needed the fight to be standing in order to remain competitive. He did, however, pull guard twice on Tsarukyan to put the fight into his opponent’s hands. Hooker was sensible in threatening a chokehold when Tsarukyan reacted with a shot. But he went overboard on submission attempts rather than using them to stop the takedowns.
Tsarukyan had complete control once he was on the floor. Tsarukyan beat the veteran down with ground strikes, before submitting with an arm triangular choke in Round 2.
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2025-11-22 21:44:40
