Arman Tsarukyan finally has a willing foe – even though it’s an unranked one.
Approximately one month after Renato Moicano withdrew from their five-round fight due to injury, Tsarukyan (19-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has been rebooked for a bout vs. Joaquim Silva (12-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC). The fight will take place at UFC on ESPN 46, which takes place June 17 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the booking informed MMA Junkie of it Tuesday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. ESPN first reported the matchup.
Tsarukyan, 26, has struggled to find fights in recent months. His two promotional losses came against Islam Makhachev in his UFC debut and Mateusz Gamrot in a June 2022 headliner.
Silva, 34, has stepped up to the plate as he seeks his second win in a row. Following back-to-back TKO losses, Silva scored a finish of his own with strikes against Jesse Ronson in October.
With the addition, the UFC on ESPN 46 lineup includes:
- Jared Cannonier vs. Marvin Vettori
- Joaquim Silva vs. Arman Tsarukyan
- Raoni Barcelos vs. Miles Johns
- Alessandro Costa vs. Jimmy Flick
- Tereza Bleda vs. Gabriella Fernandes
- Kleydson Rodrigues vs. Tatsuro Taira
- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Zac Pauga
- Nicolas Dalby vs. Muslim Salikhov
- Denys Bondar vs. Carlos Hernandez
- Nikolas Motta vs. Manuel Torres
- Daniel Argueta vs. Ronnie Lawrence
- Josh Fremd vs. Roman Kopylov
