155lbs god-king Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan will meet in the Octagon at UFC 311 to determine the best lightweight in the world. The champ, who looks unbeatable and has won his last fourteen fights, is the favorite going into the fight. But Tsarukyan is more than capable of springing an upset. How? Well, we asked AI to suggest a game plan that would help Tsarukyan beat Makhachev. Here is what it came up with.

ChatGPT thinks Tsarukyan, from the first bell, should try to chop down the tree as they say- by targeting the champ’s legs and body. AI feels this would affect Makhachev’s mobility early, and compromise his ability to close the distance and attempt takedowns. In which case, the chatbot predicted, Makhachev would have no choice but to strike with Tsarukyan, giving the contender an advantage. “By attacking the legs and body from the opening round, Arman can limit Makhachev’s ability to close distance and set up his grappling exchanges,” ChatGPT suggested.

Stylistically, the contender is the toughest opponent Makhachev has faced since becoming champion. After all, the Armenian is a world-class grappler like Makhachev and has one-punch knockout power in his hands. Striking with the Dagestani may probably even open the door to an early finish for the #1 ranked challenger.

On the other hand, Islam Makhachev, too, has developed some stellar striking skills and is probably a better technical striker than Tsarukyan, even if the champ doesn’t have the contender’s power. But at least the Dagestani’s biggest strength (grappling) would be compromised. However, that would only be the first part of the game plan to beat Makhachev.

Tiring out Makhachev is the best strategy for Arman Tsarukyan according to AI

Even if Arman Tsarukyan chopped down Makhachev’s body and legs, there is no doubt that won’t be enough to beat Makhachev. Since Makhachev always tries to take the dominant position on the ground and will work hard to secure it, AI suggested that Tsarukyan should “create chaos through rapid scrambles, using his flexibility and speed to return to his feet or reverse positions.”

Tsarukyan is certainly capable of doing that. Not only is he younger than the champ but also looks stronger, and more athletic from the eye test. Making Makhachev work hard and expend energy in the scramble would certainly be something Tsarukyan could do. Not to mention it would work beautifully to set up the third and final part of the gameplan that AI sketched out.

ChatGPT feels that Tsarukyan should initiate takedowns one after the other and not let Makhachev take a breather. This would force “Makhachev into energy-draining grappling exchanges and transitions.” This, in turn, according to the AI “may create moments where Arman can gain a positional advantage or even tire him out for later rounds.”

If the contender can successfully pull these off early on in the fight, it would certainly soften up the champ in the later rounds for him. Fatigue makes cowards of us all, as the saying goes. And since Makhachev’s skills are too good and his fight IQ too high to catch him with a knockout blow or put him in a chokehold when he’s firing on all cylinders, tiring him out does seem like the best bet. What do you think about the AI-suggested game plan for Arman Tsaukyan going into his UFC 311 fight?