Charles Oliveira believed he choked out Arman Tsarukyan with D’Arce at UFC 300: ‘I thought he went out’
Suffering a close, split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) loss to Arman Tsarukyan on the main card of UFC 300 last weekend, former lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira claims he was convinced the Armenian was out cold late into the fight, courtesy of his D’Arce choke.
Oliveira, a former undisputed lightweight titleholder, slumped to number two in the official lightweight pile off the back of his judging loss to Tsarukyan at UFC 300 – with the former replacing him atop the tree at 155 pounds.
Dropping a close, debated decision loss to the American Top Team staple, Oliveira admitted he went very close with a trio of submissions in each of his three rounds against Tsarukyan – struggling with a first round guillotine, a late second frame triangle armbar from his back, and a notable D’Arce choke in the dying embers of the last round.
And according to him, Oliveira revealed that as far as he thought, Tsarukyan had been choked unconscious during the D’Arce attempt, with the Armenian contender defending by starfishing and bellying out from the bottom before the klaxon sounded.
Charles Oliveira argues for decision win at UFC 300
Arguing his case for a win due to his activity and search for numerous submissions, Oliveira admitted he thought that he had choked out Tsarukyan before the end of the final round.
“30 seconds [left in the fight], it was tight, one of the submissions I like the most, D’Arce choke,” Charles Oliveira told Canal Encarada during a recent interview. “I thought he (Arman Tsarukyan) went out, that’s why I had my tongue out, joking, you know? But I don’t know, it’s part of the game.”
“I had to finish him,” Charles Oliveira explained. “It went to the judges, and it’s their call, there’s nothing we can do. If you go back tot the first round, you’ll see I tired to finish him more and they scored it for me. The second one was closer and I ended up with a triangle choke locked in, and they gave it to him. The third, he was on top, holding me there, but wasn’t doing Jiu-Jitsu or anything, and I finished with a choke locked in, and they still have it to him. There’s not much we can do.” (H/T MMA Fighting)
Seeing himself dislodged from the number one rank at lightweight, Oliveira assured his fans that the lion inside of him is “still hungry” to return to the summit of the division once more.
Who would you like to see Charles Oliveira fight next after UFC 300?
