UFC’s full of guys with their own signature moves. Let’s take Ronda Rousey for example. The former 135lbs champ built her whole career off that nasty armbar. Every submission win she had was with that one move. Then you’ve got Demian Maia, who was all about taking people’s backs and choking them out. Who can forget Charles Oliveira, who has now become the most prolific submission artist ever? His offensive BJJ and submissions are a delight to the eye. Khabib Nurmagomedov was a beast on the ground, sure, but what really made him famous was that neck crank on Conor McGregor at UFC 229. So, Islam Makhachev flirting and revolutionizing a vicious submission like the D’Arce choke is pretty expected.
The 155-pound kingpin is gaining serious buzz for his submission skills. After slick back-to-back D’Arce choke wins—one against Renato Moicano at UFC 311 and another over Dustin Poirier at UFC 302, he’s made that move his signature. Named after Joe D’Arce, who didn’t invent the choke, but he helped make it famous as a third-degree black belt under Renzo Gracie. Notable UFC fighters like Vicente Luque (4 submissions), Tony Ferguson (3 submissions), and now, Makhachev, have 2 wins by using the technique.
The Dagestani has always been known for his wrestling and sambo, but his Brazilian jiu-jitsu is underrated. That became clear when he tapped Oliveira with a slick arm-triangle at UFC 280. Lately, people have been taking notes from the Dagestani’s choke game—and it feels like Arman Tsarukyan is first in line. ‘Ahalkalakets’ was originally set to rematch Makhachev at UFC 311 for gold, but a back injury gave way to another D’Arce finish for Makhachev. Red Corner MMA uploaded a post on Instagram where Tsarukyan had been drilling that exact choke with his teammate, John Mitchell, an Irish fighter signed to PFL.
Since the video surfaced, fans were quick to draw comparisons to Islam Makhachev. The MMA world didn’t waste any time reacting, and most of it has been people pointing out everything wrong with the choke attempt. From poor hand positioning to bad timing, it’s kind of turned into a highlight reel of what not to do. Let’s see what the fight fans had to say!
Fans compare Arman Tsarukyan’s failed D’Arce choke attempt to Islam Makhachev
One fan quickly dropped Makhachev’s famous line to Daniel Cormier, saying, “Send him to Dagestan for 2–3 years and forget. Maybe that guy will tap. Or sleep. No one does it better than Islam.” A pretty savage reaction to Arman’s D’Arce attempt! Another user just called it an outright failure, “Total Failure.” Short, crisp, and also hurtful. There was also another comment, reminding the Georgian, “There are levels in this game,” clearly indicating the current lightweight champion’s submission prowess is much better than the Armenian’s.
Another fan didn’t hold back, taking a shot at Arman’s effort with, “Islam can submit three guys in that same amount of time.” Then it got even worse when someone pointed out, “Arman has 0 submissions in the UFC.” Which is true, but to be fair, ‘Ahalkalakets’ has racked up four KO/TKO finishes in the UFC. The guy clearly trusts his hands. Now it just looks like he’s trying to round out his game and add submissions to the toolkit. Everyone’s going to start somewhere, right?
Leading up to UFC 311, Arman teased that he had a “special technique” ready for the rematch with Islam. Fans were hyped to see what he’d bring—but after the fight, one user wasn’t buying it: “Bro don’t have secret technique.” Another fan took it even further, dragging Ilia Topuria into the mix. They referenced Topuria’s bold claim on the PBD Podcast that he’d choke Islam with his favorite move—the D’Arce. That sparked a savage reply: “Arman can’t do this, let alone little Topuria. Topuria is just dreaming of doing that in front of Khabib. How could his short hands do that to a big man like Islam?”
Since Tsarukyan missed out on the biggest fight of his life at UFC 311, who’s next? This training session felt low-key, but who knows? It could be laying the groundwork for his next bout. He’s still sitting near the top of the division, so don’t be surprised if the UFC lines up a big name next. Maybe a top-five contender looking to prove a point—or a rising star aiming to make their mark. What do you think? Who should Arman fight next? Drop your picks in the comments below.
The post Everyone Is Saying the Same Thing About Arman Tsarukyan’s Total Failure to Replicate Islam Makhachev’s Infamous Choke appeared first on EssentiallySports.
