Matthews Jamrot and Arman Tsarukyan had a bit of a fight Saturday at the Apex in Las Vegas, which is a precursor to everything great about mixed martial arts. It was fast with unbridled scrambling, great wrestling, high-level wrestling, and an intensity rarely seen for a full 25 minutes.
Gamrot won by unanimous decision in a match that demonstrated the unreal depth of the UFC’s lightweight division. Tsarukyan came into the match at number 11 and Gamrot 12, and after watching them fight so hard over five rounds, it’s hard to believe that there are 10 fighters in the division that are better than them.
Gamrot was 20-18 behind after two rounds, but swept the last three on the three judges’ scorecards to make the decision.
Only a split decision loss to Guram Kottiladze in 2020 prevents Gamrot from being 22-0 as a pro. Tsarukyan fell to 18-3 after suffering his first defeat since losing in a decision in 2019 to Islam Makhachev.
Tsarukyan dominated the fight early with his bodily kicks. There was a lot of fast-paced scrambling early in the fight, but neither of the two men had an advantage. But as the fight continued, Gambrot’s wrestling became more important.
It was such an advantage in the latter half of the fight that in the break after the fourth round, Tsarukyan’s corner kick prompted him, “No more wrestling!”
Tsarukyan had an advantage of 95-81 on big touchdowns, but Gamrot had six takedowns for one for Tsarukyan. Four of those takedowns – two each – came in Gamrot’s last two rounds.
But Gambrot’s hit was more accurate. He dropped 58 percent of his big hits to 38 percent for Tsarukyan and hit 20 of 25 in the fifth round. By contrast, Tsarukyan landed at 23 of 54 in the latter.
“It was a very tough battle,” Qamarot said. “That was high-level MMA.”
Tsarukyan brought down Gamrot with a turn back first early in the fourth, but Gamrot quickly recovered and got back on his feet. That was a turning point as Gambrot’s wrestling skills dominated the fight from that point onwards.
Gamrot had Tsarukyan back on late in the fourth, Tsarukyan’s knee awkwardly folded under him, but Tsarukyan made his way out of it.
“I don’t know what happened [because] “This camp was very good,” Tsarukyan said. “I don’t know. I have to show a better fight than this.”
Gamrot capped an amazing fight by pulling a surprising callout. Dial No. 3 Justin Gethje, who will lose to Charles Oliveira.
The fight won’t happen in the first place because Gaethje ranks much higher than he is, and the winner of the July 9 match between No. 7 Rafael dos Anjos and No. 10 Rafael Fiziev might be the most logical opponent for him.
But there is no blame on him for reaching for the stars after his brilliant performance.
“Now I want to fight with Justin Gaethje,” said Jamrot. “Justin Gethje is the most brutal man in the department so I want to fight him next.”
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