Ahead of their lightweight title clash in the main event of UFC 311 on January 18th, the challenger Arman Tsarukyan has suggested that people are over-estimating the current champion Islam Makhachev’s skill level.

The 28-year-old Tsarukyan is speaking from first-hand knowledge as in his UFC debut back in April of 2019 he stepped into the Octagon against Makhachev and gave a very good account of himself that earned ‘Fight Of The Night’ honors, though it did also end in a unanimous decision defeat.

“He’s not that good like people think,” Tsarukyan told ESPN recently. “People think he’s unbeatable, like crazy wrestling, but like I took him down when I was 22 years old.”

And after winning 9 of his 10 fights in the UFC since then, Tsarukyan now feels he has all the attributes to successfully avenge that loss.

“First of all, I know how to wrestle very well,” Tsarukyan said. “Second, I’m young and hungry. I’ve never had the belt, so it drives me very well. I have a lot of energy for the trainings and I believe I’m the guy who’s going to beat him. But the most important thing is that I’m very hungry. I want that belt so much. It’s a dream. When I got in the UFC, I was thinking about that. I’ve been thinking about it for five years.“