A contender Ilia Topuria snubbed at UFC 317 may end up getting the next title fight.
It’s an exciting time in the UFC lightweight division. With pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev relinquishing his title, Ilia Topuria became the new lightweight champion of the world after knocking out Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317.
Topuria was surrounded by potential challengers following his second title win: Arman Tsarukyan, Justin Gaethje, and rival Paddy Pimblett, who entered the cage with him for a face-off.
Who will get the title shot out of the three? That’s a loaded question, as White has shown dislike for the Topuria vs. Pimblett face-off, Gaethje’s ‘whacky’ retirement ultimatum, and the idea Tsarukyan could fight for the title again after withdrawing from his main event against Makhachev at UFC 311.
One ex-UFC star believes the #1 contender has paid his dues for another title opportunity.
Josh Thomson sees Arman Tsarukyan fighting Ilia Topuria after making weight at UFC 317
Tsarukyan was mentioned by Topuria in his post-fight interview, insulting the fighter for not ‘delivering’ against Makhachev because of a back injury.
At the UFC 317 post-fight press conference, White denied Tsarukyan the next title fight and said he didn’t make weight for his first title opportunity at UFC 311.
On Friday morning, Tsarukyan stepped onto the scales at the championship weight of 155 lbs as the back-up fighter for the UFC 317 main event.
Former Strikeforce Champion and UFC lightweight Josh Thomson believes Tsarukyan has redeemed himself with the move.
“I think because Arman made the weight, showed up as the back-up, it kinda rights the wrong for Dana White,” Thomson said on The Weighing In Podcast.
“He righted the wrong.
“I honestly believe that he’s gonna end up being next,” Thomson said of Tsarukyan.
“I don’t think that they’re gonna put Paddy next because I think they wanna keep Ilia there for a little bit. They’re like, look, let’s get the Arman fight, and then let’s get the Paddy fight. Let’s see what happens.”
Josh Thomson thinks UFC will ‘try to test’ Ilia Topuria with Arman Tsarukyan matchup
While Thomson reveres a potential Topuria vs. Pimblett matchup as the ‘next closest fight’ to Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov in terms of magnitude, the retired fighter still believes Tsarukyan should be next in line for Topuria.
Topuria left the featherweight division after one title defense and Thomson fears he might want to move up to welterweight after another title defense at lightweight.
“If he goes and beats Paddy, that’s a pretty big payday,” Thomson said of Topuria’s next fight.
“And then what’s keeping him from going, like, ‘I want my third title, let’s go to 170, I don’t need to fight Arman…'”
Islam Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez has touted Tsarukyan as Topuria’s toughest test at lightweight and Thomson echoes a similar sentiment.
“I think they’re gonna try to test him,” Thomson said of the UFC’s plans for Topuria.
“They’re gonna say, hey, let’s have you fight Arman.
“I think they’re gonna try to test him,” Thomson added.
Tsarukyan is 9-1 in the UFC since losing to Makhachev in his UFC debut. The #1 contender has knocked out the likes of former top-3 contender Beneil Dariush and beat former champ Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 last year before Topuria got his hands on him.