Arman Tsarukyan has defended himself after Justin Gaethje claimed that he said no to fighting him on short notice at UFC 313.
Earlier this week, fans were crushed by the news that Dan Hooker had withdrawn from his UFC 313 fight against Justin Gaethje, leaving ‘The Highlight’ without an opponent.
Despite the last-minute withdrawal, several lightweights offered to fight Gaethje on just over a week’s notice, giving fans hope that the former interim champion would remain on the card.
This past Wednesday, UFC boss, Dana White announced that Rafael Fiziev will be replacing Hooker and will rematch Gaethje at UFC 313.
Arman Tsarukyan defends himself and explains why he’s not fighting Justin Gaethje
Despite several lightweights having claimed that they would fight on short notice, Gaethje outed five of them, claiming that they turned down the opportunity although they publicized their interest.
One of those who apparently turned down the fight was Arman Tsarukyan. ‘Ahalkalakets’ was of course scheduled to fight for the 155lb title this past January but a back injury ruled him out just a day before the fight.
Following that, Dana White revealed that Tsarukyan won’t be given another title shot and will have to work his way back up to a title shot.
A short-notice win over Gaethje will have likely been enough for him to secure a title shot and he has taken to social media to defend himself as to why he won’t be fighting at UFC 313.
“I didn’t say no, I accepted immediately and asked for a 160lbs catchweight 11 days out from weigh-ins, UFC said that wasn’t an option,” Tsarukyan revealed.
Who will Arman Tsarukyan fight next?
The lightweight title picture is seemingly hotting up and there is no clear contender to fight Islam Makhachev for the strap.
The most likely to fight the Russian next is Ilia Topuria after the Spaniard vacated his featherweight title to move up to 155lbs permanently.
With that being the most likely eventuality, that leaves Tsarukyan with one clear option and that is a rematch against Charles Oliveira.
‘Do Bronx’ was hopeful of a rematch against Makhachev, however, he is 2-1 since their first meeting with his loss coming to the Armenian.
With their first fight having been so closely contested, a five-round rematch to determine who is the number one contender seems the most sensible option for both challengers.