Charles Oliveira to Face Arman Tsarukyan in No. 1 Contender Bout at UFC 300

Ex-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira will square off against Arman Tsarukyan in a title eliminator bout at UFC 300.

UFC CEO Dana White announced the booking on Sunday night. The winner of the 155-pound contest will be next in line to face Islam Makhachev, who White revealed is recovering from an injury. UFC 300 takes place on April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and also includes a light heavyweight showdown pitting Jiri Prochazka against Aleksandar Rakic and a featherweight scrap between Aljamain Sterling and Calvin Kattar.

Oliveira is coming off a first-round technical knockout victory over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 this past June. That triumph earned “Do Bronx” a title shot against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, but the Brazilian suffered a cut in training that forced him to withdraw from the October bout. Oliveira has won 12 of his last 13 promotional outings, with his lone defeat during that stretch coming via second-round submission against Makhachev in their first meeting at UFC 280.

Tsarukyan is also seeking a rematch with Makhachev after falling to the reigning lightweight champ via decision in his Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 149 in April 2019. The American Top Team standout has won eight of nine bouts since then and will take a three-bout winning streak into the matchup with Oliveira. Tsarukyan last competed at UFC on ESPN 52, where he stopped Dariush in just 64 seconds on Dec. 2.