Arman Tsarukyan was heavily favored to win Saturday’s UFC event against Joaquim Silva in the lightweight co-main event with odds exceeding -1000. However, Tsarukyan did not have an easy victory.

After a dominating first round for Tsarukyan using his grappling, he switched things up in the second and was almost knocked out by Silva. Tsarukyan was able to regain composure and finish the round strong. In the third and final round, Tsarukyan was determined to finish the fight and did so with a hard slam, followed by ground-and-pound that prompted the referee to stop the fight.

Tsarukyan is now 7-2 in the UFC and has had some highly competitive fights against notable opponents, even giving current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev a run for his money in his UFC debut in April 2019.

Tsarukyan has his sights set on facing Makhachev again in a rematch, but also mentioned Beneil Dariush as a potential opponent. However, Dariush may not be ready until December, which does not align with Tsarukyan’s timeline. Tsarukyan also expressed interest in fighting Michael Chandler, confidently predicting that he would “kill him” in the ring if given the chance.

Overall, Tsarukyan’s victory over Silva was not a walk in the park, but he proved once again his skill and determination inside the octagon.