Arman Tsarukyan's introduction of a new training partner is the perfect way to troll Islam Makhachev ahead of their world title rematch.
The pair will fight for the lightweight title at UFC 311 in Los Angeles next month after Makhachev won their first meeting in April 2019. Their first fight earned Fight of the Night honors after Tsarukyan made a debut on short notice, and the challenger has lost just once since.
Now they're ready to compete for the highest stakes possible on pay-per-view at the new Intuit Dome in California. And Tsarukyan has appointed a new teammate to help him prepare who will get into his rival's head.
Arman Tsarukyan adds Adriano Martins to the Islam Makhachev battle camp
In a new post on social media, Arman Tsarukyan revealed that he had enlisted Adriano Martins to help him train for his fight against Islam Makhachev. The Brazilian infamously knocked out the now champion, handing him his only defeat in October 2015.
Tsarukyan shared a photo on Instagram stories showing him and Martins after training with American Top Team, which he left without a caption. But the ex-UFC star wrote in Portuguese: “Lions walk with lions.”
Martins didn't win another fight until March this year after the Makhachev fight, marking nine years without raising his hand. And even when he did get a win, he was robbed of the moment as the decision was initially misread in his opponent's favor and then changed later in the evening.
Tsarukyan's move, however, will likely land on Makhachev's mind, whose defeat came right in the middle of his teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov's climb to the top of the division. He was brutally eliminated by Martins and has never looked close to defeat since.
Fans react as Arman Tsarukyan brings Adriano Martins in for fight camp
Many fans on social media noted that almost a decade later, the champion is now a very different fighter. And they even noted that the shot Martins landed in that fight seemed to come out of nowhere.
“I wonder if Arman is doing this on purpose to play mind games,” one fan wrote. “But Arman also suffered a loss on the regional scene earlier in his career. He also has a loss for Gamrot. So if he's trying to soften Islam's only loss, that's stupid, especially since Islam already defeated him lol.
Another added: “His mistake is assuming Islam is the same person. Why prepare for the fighter he was then when he has clearly come such a long way as an all-around MMA fighter?”
But some weren't so sure. Noting Tsarukyan's impressive physique, they asked, “Arman trained with Khamzat Chimaev, and now the guy who KO'D Makhachev… Guys, should I change my bet or parlay?”
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