JRE MMA Show #185 with Ethyn Ewing · Aired Sep 2, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Islam Makhachev was nearly defeated in his first fight against Arman Tsarukyan.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Makhachev did beat Tsarukyan by decision in their 2019 meeting, but it was not close to a loss. Two of the three judges scored it 30-27, giving Makhachev every round, while only one judge had it a tighter 29-28. Calling that a near-defeat overstates how competitive the fight actually was.
Read the supporting source · mmadecisions.com ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Islam Makhachev was nearly defeated in his first fight against Arman Tsarukyan?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. Makhachev did beat Tsarukyan by decision in their 2019 meeting, but it was not close to a loss. Two of the three judges scored it 30-27, giving Makhachev every round, while only one judge had it a tighter 29-28. It was said on JRE MMA Show #185 with Ethyn Ewing, aired Sep 2, 2026, at 2:27:03. We haven't independently confirmed who said it. The supporting source is mmadecisions.com, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
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