Dustin Poirier says Charles Oliveira almost finished Arman Tsarukyan with a deep guillotine before escape

Dustin Poirier believes Charles Oliveira was close to submitting Arman Tsarukyan during their lightweight title eliminator in April 2024, describing Tsarukyan’s survival in the opening round as something that “saved” him from a fight that otherwise could have ended early. Poirier’s comments bring fresh attention to a sequence that has stuck with fans and fighters: Oliveira sinking a deep guillotine choke and forcing Tsarukyan to scramble free rather than tap.

That contest carries major stakes in the UFC’s lightweight division. Oliveira entered as the BMF champion and, coming off years of championship-level competition, he was positioned as a dangerous test for any contender. Tsarukyan arrived with momentum of his own, entering with a record that reflected his ability to win in the UFC’s deepest weight class. Despite the importance, the fight’s outcome was decided by officials, with Oliveira dropping a split decision to Tsarukyan rather than finishing him inside the distance.

The guillotine moment came in the first round. According to the discussion highlighted by Poirier, Oliveira captured Tsarukyan with a deep guillotine choke, a position known for how quickly it can become fight-ending if the opponent’s escape path closes. Tsarukyan, however, managed to work his way out. Instead of a clean finish, the escape allowed the contest to continue, and it ultimately reached the judges’ scorecards where Tsarukyan prevailed by split decision.

For Poirier, the significance is not just technical, it is psychological and strategic. When a fighter gets a deep choke early in a high-stakes matchup, it typically shapes the rest of the bout because it dictates both momentum and risk. Tsarukyan’s ability to avoid the submission kept Oliveira’s threat from becoming determinative and preserved Tsarukyan’s ability to implement his own plan as the fight moved forward.

Context matters here because the fight was a lightweight title eliminator, meaning it was designed to clarify the path toward the division’s championship picture. With Oliveira and Tsarukyan both operating at contender level, the margins between “almost finished” and “finished” are thin. Poirier’s framing reinforces why that April 2024 matchup is remembered, and why it still resonates in the UFC conversation around who is truly built for the elite level when danger appears in the earliest moments.

What to watch next is how fighters and training camps respond to that lesson. For Oliveira, the takeaway is that even when the choke is secured deep, the opponent’s escape routes and timing can decide everything, and the margin must be widened through follow-up control and positional damage. For Tsarukyan, the implication is that his defensive scramble and composure can neutralize a swing moment, giving him a blueprint for resisting early submissions even against grappling-heavy opponents.