The next title fight in the UFC’s lightweight division was seemingly decided inside the cage at UFC 317.
Paddy Pimblett shared a heated face-off with Ilia Topuria after stepping into the Octagon following the conclusion of the main event.
Arman Tsarukyan was critical of the staredown after his position as the #1 contender at 155-pounds was skipped over in favor of the division’s biggest rivalry.
While Tsarukyan is confident that he could dethrone Topuria now that ‘El Matador’ has become the new champion, he’s clearly not as sure about Pimblett’s chances.
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Arman Tsarukyan doesn’t believe that Paddy Pimblett can beat top UFC lightweights who are in their prime
In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, Arman Tsarukyan chimed in with his thoughts on Paddy Pimblett and where he stands in the lightweight division.
The top contender didn’t completely dismiss the controversial star’s ability but he did add a crucial caveat to his assessment of ‘The Baddy’.
Pimblett’s stock has received some pushback with attention being drawn to the fact that his biggest wins have come against opponents who are coming towards the end of their careers.
With that in mind, Tsarukyan doesn’t believe the outspoken Brit has the potential to beat some of the top fighters who are currently in their primes, rather than being on a downward trajectory.
While he thinks that Pimblett could come out on top over some of the names that are currently in the top five, there are three main exceptions to this.
“He’s legit but not like a top five fighter level. He can beat like Charles [Oliveira] maybe now. He can beat maybe [Justin] Gaethje but he’s never going to beat [Ilia] Topuria, me or Islam [Makhachev], who are in their primes right now. He can beat fighters who are almost retired or in their last fights.”
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Arman Tsarukyan threw the same criticism at Ilia Topuria on social media
While Ilia Topuria’s recent run of performances has been nothing short of spectacular, there are some who make the case that ‘El Matador’ has beaten legendary fighters who are no longer at their best.
Max Holloway’s stock was incredibly high at the time of their UFC 308 clash but the same can’t be said for Alexander Volkanovski and Charles Oliveira, who had recently suffered losses when Topuria fought them.
After claiming that Paddy Pimblett can’t beat top lightweights who are in their prime, Arman Tsarukyan criticized Topuria with a similar statement.
It isn’t clear what is next for Tsarukyan following the results of UFC 317, though he did recently reveal that he turned down a fight with Mateusz Gamrot for later this month due to the fact that they both train at the same gym.