Ilia Topuria has put together a legendary run over the last few fights, however, he is still being branded ‘scared’ by longtime lightweight contender.
This past Saturday in the UFC 317 main event, Ilia Topuria successfully joined the group of elites to win a title in two weight classes when he knocked Charles Oliveira unconscious in the first round.
Immediately after the fight, Topuria was faced with his potential first title defense as Paddy Pimblett made his way into the cage for an impromptu face off, which left Dana White annoyed.
And following his incredible win, Topuria has taken the top spot in the pound-for-pound rankings, knocking Islam Makhachev off the number one ranking.
Arman Tsarukyan accuses Ilia Topuria of running from him
Although ‘El Matador’ faced off with ‘The Baddy’, it is unclear whether that is the fight the UFC will explore next.
However, what is clear is that Dana White still isn’t keen on giving Arman Tsarukyan a lightweight title shot, despite the fact that he weighed in as a backup for the main event.
Not only that but immediately after the fight, Topuria claimed that he saw Tsarukyan’s reaction to his KO in the crowd and said he looked ‘scared’, knowing that it could’ve been him.
And now a few days removed from Topuria’s title win, ‘Ahalkalakets’ has accused the Spaniard of running from him, claiming that he is the one who is ‘scared’.
“Running from the real contender only proves one thing – you’re scared. Deep down, you know exactly what happens if you ever step in there with me,” Tsarukyan said in a post on X.
Who will Topuria fight next?
At this point, it seems as though White has shut down every potential opponent for Topuria. Not only that, but UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis may have accidentally leaked that Pimblett is booked to fight Justin Gaethje in the co-main event of UFC 319.
Despite that, Gaethje recently claimed that if he isn’t given a title shot next then he will retire from the sport.
His comments didn’t sit well with Dana who went on to suggest he retires if he has already been thinking about it, suggesting he won’t be given the next title shot.
And with that, it is unclear which direction the promotion will go with Topuria, however, the 28-year-old has admitted that he would like to return to action before the end of the year.