Arman Tsarukyan says UFC 300 judge who scored fight for Charles Oliveira apologized in a phone call: “He was going to kill my career!”
UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan says the lone judge who scored his UFC 300 fight in Charles Oliveira’s favor admitted afterward that he made a mistake.
Tsarukyan defeated Oliveira by split decision to secure No. 1 lightweight contender status at UFC 300. He’ll face the Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier winner after their clash at UFC 302 on June 1.
Judge Mike Bell scored Round 3 for Oliveira, despite Tsarukyan landing relentless ground-and-pound. Tsarukyan expressed frustration with the scoring in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan in the cage.
Bell, who was also at the center of the Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko scoring controversy at Noche UFC, allegedly reached out to Tsarukyan and his team following UFC 300.
Arman Tsarukyan reveals UFC 300 judge Mike Bell called his coach after the event
During a recent sitdown with UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, Tsarukyan revealed that Bell contacted one of his coaches following the controversial scoring.
“He gave the third round to Charles Oliveira. My coach talked to him, and he called my coach and said ‘Sorry, you were right, I shouldn’t have given it to Oliveira’,” Tsarukyan alleged. “If I lost this fight, I would’ve killed him. He was going to kill my career! Nonstop training, every day, you think about the fight…training, weight cutting, drama…
“Maybe he just didn’t see it from the right position.”
Tsarukyan has won four consecutive fights and could potentially earn a rematch with Makhachev for his next matchup. He and Makhachev went the distance in their first fight in April 2019.
Tsarukyan finished Beneil Dariush and Joaquim Silva before the win against Oliveira. He has won nine of his last ten fights overall.
Bell apologized to Shevchenko after the split draw scoring at Noche UFC. Grasso and Shevchenko are expected to complete their trilogy after coaching The Ultimate Fighter 32 this year.
As Tsarukyan prepares for his upcoming UFC title shot, he’s likely hoping that Bell won’t be cage-side when he challenges for the lightweight title.
