UFC lightweight Damir Ismagulov commented on his loss by unanimous decision to Arman Tsarukyan, which took place on the night of December 18 at the UFC Fight Night 216 tournament in Las Vegas.
Greetings everyone. It's been a few days since the fight. Yes, I really lost the fight, unfortunately. First of all, I want to thank the people who support me, and care about me - there's a lot of them. I can see many messages from them. There are also many who speak negatively, even some Kazakhs among them. So thanks to everyone who cares and supports me. And as for those who are hating - the dogs bark, but the caravan goes on.
“As for the fight, you all saw that the fight was over, and I wasn't myself. Unfortunately, my health condition didn't allow me to recover properly, to perform as I should have. Perhaps it was necessary to withdraw from the fight, but the nature of a fighter doesn't allow it. But no excuses. I went out, I fought until the end, I was ready to win, but, unfortunately, it didn't work out, and the fight was lost. Yes, I left without shaking hands, but that's no disrespect... I just don't like to lose, and I left because I was upset. Then Arman and I talked and I congratulated him, so there's nothing but respect.
Tsarukyan is a good athlete, he shows good results, he is a top competitor. He said he performed at 50% of his abilities, so I think it would be great if he could perform at 100%. In 2023, if there's a second chance, I'm sure the fight will be very different. I know myself, I know my level, I'm still confident. Here, of course, my self-confidence was a little bit not in my favor. Perhaps I should have withdrawn from the fight, but no excuses - the fight was lost," Ismagulov said in a video posted on his social media.
Ismagulov fought in June of this year in the UFC on ESPN 37 tournament against the Georgian Guram Kutateladze. In this confrontation, Damir won by split decision of the judges. On his account he has 24 wins and two defeats. Tsarukyan had 19 wins and three losses.
