UFC Fight Night Qatar: Arman Tsarukyan earns submission victory in return from extended absence

UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan was validated after a 589-day absence from the Octagon Saturday, securing an arm-triangle-choke submission against Dan Hooker in the second round of the main event of UFC Fight Night in Doha, Qatar.

In his first fight since April 13, 2024, Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA) of Armenia extended his winning streak to five. After the fight, he requested a title shot against UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria (17-0 MMA) to begin next year's UFC event schedule.

"Only guy who wanted to fight me," Tsarukyan said of Hooker. "Everyone has run out, especially Ilia. If you are here, come on (in the Octagon). We gotta face (off). There is just one contender, one No. 1 contender. It's Arman Tsarukyan. Everybody knows I've got to fight for the title."

Hooker (24-13 MMA) of New Zealand suffered his first loss since March 2022, having won three straight fights prior to the Tsarukyan booking.

In the co-headliner, several takedowns were enough for Ireland's Ian Machado Garry (17-1 MMA) to outlast former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad (24-5 MMA) to stake his case for a title shot next year.

The unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) allowed Garry to send a message to recently crowned champion Islam Makhachev (28-1 MMA).

"Sign the contract, and I'll see you soon," Garry said during his post-fight interview.

A fifth-straight finish in Saturday's event saw Swiss light heavyweight Volkan Oezdemir (21-8 MMA) utilize an uppercut, followed by a jumping knee and strikes to earn a KO/TKO against Alonzo Menifield at 1:27 of Round 1. Menifield (17-6-1 MMA) has lost three of his last five.

Newly minted UFC welterweight Jack Hermansson had a rude awakening after moving down from middleweight at the expense of Myktybek Orolbai. Orolbai (15-2-1 MMA) only needed 2:46 of the opening round to knock out Hermansson (24-10 MMA) viciously.

Orolbai has won six of his first seven UFC fights. Primarily competing at lightweight, it remains to be seen whether 170 pounds remains his new home. As for Hermansson, he has now suffered consecutive losses for the first time in over a decade.

On two days' notice, Waldo Cortes-Acosta (16-2 MMA) didn't take long to seize an opportunity to earn a highlight-reel finish with a first-round TKO against Shamil Gaziev (14-2 MMA). Cortes-Acosta has won back-to-back fights to improve to 4-1 on the year and is seeking yet another quick turnaround for one of the UFC's final two events this calendar year.

Flyweight Kyoji Horiguchi took care of Tagir Ulanbekov to begin the UFC Qatar main card with a rear naked choke at 2:18 of the third round. Horiguchi (35-5, 1 NC MMA) has won six of his last seven fights, while Ulanbekov (17-3 MMA) had a four-fight unbeaten run snapped.

-Field Level Media