"I was so scared when I did my first pro,"
"I thought it was easy, like a street fight, but when I went there and saw the cage, I was scared and said, 'What if I lose? What if someone knocks me out?' I was lucky I took him down, did ground-and-pound, and won in the first round. Then I understood I had to do amateur fights. I did pro and then went back to amateur."
Arman Tsarukyan transitioned directly from grappling to professional MMA and experienced intense fear during his first pro fight upon seeing the cage. He secured an early takedown, used ground-and-pound, and finished the fight in the first round. That victory convinced him he needed amateur experience, so he returned to amateur competition. In the UFC, he lost a short-notice debut to Islam Makhachev, then compiled five straight wins before a disputed decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot. He later achieved another five-fight winning streak, earned a title shot but withdrew due to injury, and served as a backup at a vacant-title event.
Read at Sherdog
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