Tsarukyan Claims Oliveira Used Teammate's Death To Duck Rematch

Arman Tsarukyan accused Charles Oliveira of using his teammate's death as a pretext to avoid their UFC 331 rematch next month.

Oliveira withdrew from the Los Angeles card after the sudden passing of Allan Nascimento, his close friend and training partner at Chute Boxe. Tsarukyan, who edged Oliveira by split decision at UFC 300 in early 2024, will now face Mauricio Ruffy instead. But the Georgian contender questioned the Brazilian's motives in a Yahoo Sports interview, suggesting Oliveira returned to camp too quickly for the withdrawal to be genuine.

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Tsarukyan Questions Oliveira's Camp Return

"Charles' friend died and he cannot train; but I don't understand, in 3-4 days he's doing training and back in camp," Tsarukyan told Yahoo Sports. "Probably they already set up a fight with Diego Lopes. He was just finding an excuse. To lose somebody is so hard, but you could beat me and dedicate the victory to your friend. Fight me or Diego Lopes? For sure he would pick Diego Lopes."

Oliveira is reportedly in talks to return against Diego Lopes at UFC 334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden, per MMA Mania. The lightweight bout would give the former champion more time to grieve before competing again.

🎟️ Get tickets: Buy tickets to UFC 331 on Ticketmaster →

Tsarukyan meets Ruffy at UFC 331 in Los Angeles next month.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — Evil Arman claims Charles Oliveira used teammate’s death to duck UFC 331 rematch — ‘He was just finding an excuse’