UFC Fight Night: Arman Tsarukyan v Joaquim Silva – Lightweights Lock Horns!

Arman Tsaurkyan makes his return on Saturday night against Joaquim Silva, co-main eventing UFC Fight Night: Vettori v Cannonier on Saturday, June 17th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here, we break down this big lightweight matchup, as well as its implications for the wider division. Read on to find out our predictions for this fight below!

Arman Tsarukyan: Division Dark Horse aiming for Renewed Title Charge

Arman Tsarukyan has long been touted as one of the true dark horses of the lightweight division – and with very good reason.

Tsarukyan is viewed by many as being one of the best talents of the new generation of Mixed Martial Arts, and he has fully vindicated and justified that support, with a phenomenal 19-3 record this early into his career. Making his debut all the way back in 2019 against the current lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, Arman Tsarukyan’s abilities were clear for all to see. Despite losing a competitive decision, it became clear that Tsarukyan would eventually compete at the highest levels of the division.

Arman Tsarukyan will be hoping to once again have his hand raised once again on Saturday night. (Image credit: ESPN)

Only a highly competitive decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot (which many outlets had him winning) was able to halt a dominant six fight winning streak for Arman Tsarukyan, a run which also included two POTN bonuses and two FOTN bonuses. He is currently ranked at No. 8 in the lightweight rankings, but expect Arman Tsarukyan to have his eyes firmly set on the top 5 before all is said and done.

Joaquim Silva: Looking to Cause Huge Upset

It’s fair to say that things have not gone exactly to plan in the UFC for Joaquim Silva.

Despite being 4-3 in his UFC tenure, Joaquim Silva has been completely unable to get any momentum together at all. Big wins over Jared “Flash” Gordon and Jesse Ronson have also been mixed with brutal stoppage losses to Nasrat Haqparast and Ricky Glenn. In the UFC, momentum is essential to progress, so stop-and-start wins and losses are far from ideal.

Truthfully, it’s a very tough ask for Joaquim Silva to get his momentum back, especially facing Arman Tsarukyan of all people. Nonetheless, Silva has shown that he has the ability to dig himself out of these holes, especially when the odds are stacked against him.

Arman Tsarukyan: Path to Victory – Wrestle to the Ground, Proceed to Pound

Arman Tsarukyan’s path to victory in this fight is relatively straightforward – get this fight to the ground, and then unload on Joaquim Silva.

We’ve seen just how excellent Arman Tsarukyan’s wrestling is – it’s some of the best in the lightweight division, and, by extension, the wider UFC. When you can wrestle as good as Arman Tsarukyan can, it puts a huge amount of pressure on your opponent to be able to counter it. So far, very few people have had any kind of answer to the dominant wrestling of Tsarukyan.

I think the clearest example of Arman Tsarukyan’s path to victory in this fight is actually his performance against Joel Alvarez, which earned him a POTY bonus. In case you didn’t see it, it was an absolutely dominant wrestling display from Tsarukyan, followed by some of the most vicious ground and pound you’ve ever seen. I’d show you the damage to Alvarez, but I would probably have to blur it (yes, it was that bad).

http:/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMz2g9s0Dx0

The point I am making here is that Arman Tsarukyan has a clear path to victory in this fight. His wrestling is second to none, and his ground and pound is vicious. If he is able to implement his game plan in this fight, then I find it difficult to see how Joaquim Silva can get any sort of foothold in this fight. If Arman Tsarukyan comes flying out of the blocks, then it really could be game over instantly for Joaquim Silva in this co-main event.

Joaquim Silva: Path to Victory – Time the Knockout Shot

Given everything I’ve just said, it’s sort of obvious that I don’t think Joaquim Silva has much of a chance in this matchup. However, there is some hope for Silva – but it will have to be timed to perfection.

Joaquim Silva will be hoping to time another perfect knockout shot when he faces off against Arman Tsarukyan on Saturday night. (Image credit: UFC)

In his last two wins, Joaquim Silva has been successful in timing the knockout shots. In his last outing against Jesse Ronson last October, Silva displayed exceptional timing with a flying knee. Against Jared Gordon, he was very good at picking/timing his shots, which ultimately led to the TKO. If Joaquim Silva is going to win against Arman Tsarukyan, I feel that this is his best chance of doing so.

Joaquim Silva’s path to victory is certainly much more narrow and limited than Tsarukyan’s, but anything can happen in the midst of a fight.

So, Arman Tsarukyan v Joaquim Silva – Who Wins?

To be honest, I think there’s only one obvious winner in this fight – and that’s Arman Tsarukyan.

Arman Tsarukyan’s smothering wrestling should be too much for Joaquim Silva in this fight. (Image credit: @MMAFighting)

Aside from current momentum being on Tsarukyan’s side, I think that Arman Tsarukyan is just going to be far too much for Joaquim Silva to deal with. I think he’s going to come flying out of the blocks and smother Joaquim Silva with his wrestling, and eventually get him down to the ground. If he’s successful in doing this, then I think that Joaquim Silva is in huge trouble. As I’ve said already, I think Arman Tsarukyan’s ground and pound is some of the most dangerous in the lightweight division, as well as the wider UFC. If he starts unloading on Silva, then I think he’ll finish this fight.

Therefore, the official prediction is Arman Tsarukyan to win via second round TKO (ground and pound). Silva is a very good fighter, but I feel that Tsarukyan is just going to be far too much for Silva. I think Tsarukyan wins, and he renews his charge on the top 5 in the lightweight division.