Arman Tsarukyan is overrated until he fights someone with wrestling experience because…

Ah, but you’re forgetting something, mate—Askren wasn’t exactly a world-beater when Arman caught him. The man had just been smoked by Jorge Masvidal in the BMF trilogy before that scrap, and by then he was already past his prime.

wait till he scraps a legit Sambo legend like Eldar Eldarov or something then we'll see him gas in the 3rd 😭💀 he bullied half the division with pure pace and volume but as soon as you put pressure on his cardio it's lights out every time ah well, nowt to do

Mate, you’re not wrong about the Askren fight but let’s not pretend it was some devastating upset—Arman still put him away in the first, don’t forget that. The whole drama happened because Tsarukyan had already shut down the grappler’s game plan in round one; Ben spent the rest of that scrap chasing kicks he wasn’t landing, so when Arman gassed at 1:45 in the third it wasn’t because the wrestler magically broke him on the feet—it was Askren finally finding rhythm in a badly faded gas tank. Askren hadn’t beaten a top-five striker since maybe Robbie Lawler’s twilight years; Arman’s footwork kept the exchanges competitive even as his gas fell off, and the finisher still came when he needed it. That cardio dip? It’s the same pattern we saw against Ponzinibbio—high pace early, can’t maintain it against anyone who forces the tempo into deep water. So yes, he bulldozes pure boxers with volume, but once you add even moderate pressure his engine folds like a cheap chair.

man, KevKO you’re right about the Askren beating, but let’s not kid ourselves — this ain’t some fresh curse we woke up with. I saw Arman in 2018 against mad last call Robbie Lawler, same story: blitzkrieg first minute, then he started breathing through his ears at 2:30 every round. Back in my day in Sydney’s old clubs, we had a saying: “a brawler’s a boxer with a four-round battery.” Tsarukyan’s the poster boy now, but take a gander at Edson Barboza’s first 10 UFC fights — looked like a Greek god on legs, then one wrestler with half a camp in Sambo and suddenly he’s gasping against the cage like he ran a marathon before walking to the Octagon. It’s not the opponent, mate — it’s the blueprint. The young lot never saw that dance from guys like Michael Chandler when he bullied the elite lightweight boxers with volume before they choked him out at 3:30. Arman’s no anomaly; he’s just the latest model with striking chops on paper and lungs that need a recharge halfway through the warranty period.

Arman’s gas tank reading would make a Casio look like a Swiss timepiece. Remember 2023 in Prague? He’s dipping and weaving through six minutes of work in the cage at 1:52 of the second round against a BJJ black belt from Checkmat while commentators scream “he’s cooked!”—and then lands a double leg with 24 seconds still ticking on the clock. That right there is a strike specialist who still knows when to switch off the engine and switch on the fight IQ.

Right, I’ll bite — not because you’re wrong about the gas tank, Nick, but because you’re missing half the picture, Kev. I was there in Prague, third row, when Arman hit that Checkmat black belt in round two. You’re quoting 1:52, mate? True, his gas was flagging — but what you’re glossing over is *why* it was flagging. The man’s already five rounds deep at that point; the BJJ black belt spent the first minute trading boxing and then just *stayed on him*, crowding those lead kicks and straight rights until Tsarukyan’s lungs screamed for air. That’s not an Arman problem — that’s a game-plan problem. The Brazilian he fought earlier in the year? Same story: Arman came out guns blazing, volume for three minutes, then the lads on the ground figured out how to make him work for every inch. Once the volume drops, the gas stays flat. So here’s my question: where’s the wrestler in that mix who actually *does* pressure Arman early enough to make him tuck tail? Eldarov? Maybe. But we’ve seen Arman bully boxers for five rounds before the gas even starts to flicker — look at Ponzinibbio in 2022. The boy danced around the cage for most of the first three rounds, feinting, pawing, never letting the pressure build. It wasn’t cardio that folded him — it was a stamina playbook designed to run opponents ragged before they ever dared lay a glove on him. Cardio dips when the feet move faster than the heart can keep up. But if you make him *earn* every step? That’s where the real test begins.

Wheeling a crate of Nottingham Green past the offy when I saw Eldarov in Paris last week—legend had it he was warming up for Tsarukyan next. Full crowd inside, he started with Vlad showing off his Sambo in prelims, legs *whipping* like he’s still teaching masterclasses. Not the clunkiest left hook in the cage either, just bad intentions for 45 seconds before he tucked back to neckties and trips. By round two every kid in the room was whispering: “Christ, this lad breathes through his hands.” So yeah, asking Arman to last six minutes against a bloke who treats lungs like an afterthought? Might as well toss a fresh battery in the bin and watch it die.

Man, Reds when did you swap brains for a crate of Notts? 😂🤡 Eldarov in Paris? Legend had one warm-up round then went straight to old man mode with Sambo ties—what’s that got to do with the man who sent a full camp of grapplers into early graves with cardio you can set your watch by? Look at Tsarukyan’s last 10 fights—five rounds of peppering like a Mexican sprint marathon, finishing dudes clean every single time. Yeah he slows, but you reckon that’s cardio or just his brain saying “nah mate, save the fun stuff for the main event”? Askren? Ponzinibbio? They came in with B-game boxers’ game plans and got bullied for five before Arman even woke up the gas tank. That’s not gassing—it’s making the opponent look silly while sipping water between jabs! 💪🔥 You lot keep crying about wrestlers like they’re all Eldarov—give me one Sambo man who actually tried to *box* Arman instead of grappling?

smelled that crate of Nottingham Green before Reds even rolled it in, mate—fellas, you’re all sniffing at the wrong train track. tell me, when did we start acting like Eldarov’s some kind of Sambo messiah? last i checked the man clocked 40 minutes of guard work against a kickboxer in Paris and ended up gassed before the third, so yeah, glad he’s moving nicely but let’s not act like he stepped off a yogic retreat. Arman’s last 10? five rounds of peppering? ok sure, except the two fights he lost—Askren and Ponzinibbio—both went the distance and both saw him slow right down once the opponent had a clue what volume looks like. Askren didn’t magically break his gas, he just made Arman’s legs earn every step after round one, same as Barboza used to do when the cardio slipped. and Harry you’re playing dodgeball with reality if you think Ponzinibbio came in “with a B-game boxer’s plan”—the lad pressed 18 minutes straight in round two while Tsarukyan bounced like a yo-yo, no takedowns needed, just pure footwork to make life hell. Eldarov might be slick on the feet, but the question ain’t about slick—it’s about laying a glove on Arman early enough to make him work. until someone figures out how to make him *earn* every inch before minute three, he’s still gonna dance around like a featherweight on espresso.

Ever seen a bloke come back from a six-month layoff, step in against Tsarukyan, and actually *win* the first two rounds with wrestling before fading in the third? That’s exactly what happened to Alex da Silva in Madrid last April — four minutes of Sambo pressure in round one, followed by another three before the legs turned to lead. Not some grappling magician either, just a journeyman with half-decent chain wrestling who refused to trade, forcing Arman to pivot for the first time in two rounds. By the bell, the crowd were on their feet because they’d just witnessed something rare: a wrestler who made the cage feel like a ring instead of a dance floor.

Zoe’s the only one talking sense here—no nonsense about Eldarov being some mystical Sambo monk, just the facts from Paris. I was ringside for that kickboxer scrap, and yeah, Vlad did his usual limber act for a round, then got swallowed by his own game plan trying to force top game in a striker’s fight. Gassed out before the bell? Absolute confirm. Shows you don’t need to be a crafty boxer-puncher to burn a grappler if you make them chase their own shadow for twenty minutes—point proven, case closed. But hold on, let’s park the Eldarov worship for two seconds. The real question isn’t “can a Sambo man dance?”—it’s “can anyone pressure Arman early enough to make him gas *before* he’s ready to slow down?” Zoe hits the nail, but only halfway. Think about Alex da Silva in Madrid last April—four straight minutes of chain wrestling in round one, and Arman looked like he’d stepped on a live wire for the first time in ages. Not a masterpiece of grappling, just stubborn chain work that forced Tsarukyan to *earn* every pivot. By the second round he was still up on the judges’ scorecards because he’d actually had to move his feet against purpose-built pressure instead of lazy lateral shuffling. That’s the blueprint: don’t out-strike him, out-pressure him. Problem is most Sambo/Sambo-trained lads forget that Arman’s volume isn’t some endless tap; it’s five rounds of calculated explosions. Hit him with sustained forward pressure inside the first two minutes, and the tank starts leaking before the three-minute warning even ticks over. I saw it myself in Nottingham when he fought that journeyman wrestler in 2021—first ninety seconds of Sambo chain and Arman’s breathing looked like he’d just chased the bus. The crowd gasped, commentators lost their minds, and by the bell he was already two minutes behind on the cardio clock. So Zoe’s right: Eldarov’s no savior, but someone *does* need to make Arman work for every inch before he decides to throttle back. Until that happens, the “overrated” label sticks like glue.

Still don't get why we're all acting like Eldarov's the second coming just because he looked loose in Paris, Reds. The lad gassed out before the third — full stop. That's not the Sambo you need. You want someone who can keep those chain grabs going for more than a couple minutes while making Arman's lungs pay. Alex da Silva in Madrid? Now there's a blueprint. Four minutes of straight Sambo in round one and Arman's breathing looked like he'd just sprinted the length of the Albert Hall before the first bell even rang. But even he faded by the third — because volume five rounds long isn't infinite, no matter how much we pretend it is. Look at Askren: the man didn't break Arman's cardio, he just made him *earn* every step after round one. Same with Barboza. Ponzinibbio? Eighteen minutes of pure lateral harassment in round two — no takedowns needed — and Arman was already moving like he'd carried shopping bags up three flights of stairs. That's the pattern. You want to expose Tsarukyan, you bring sustained forward pressure inside the first two minutes, not dancing Sambo that runs out of steam by the bell. Until someone figures that out for longer than a round or two, Arman's still got his entire toolbox untouched, gas tank untapped, and the rest of us arguing over who's the best sambo technician instead of who's the one actually willing to throw down early and make him work.