Arman Tsarukyan sits in a strange place in the lightweight division right now.
While many fans believe that Tsarukyan is the rightful next contender, Ilia Topuria clearly has no intentions of fighting him having recently stated that he’d rather vacate his title.
This has led to fans accusing Topuria of ducking the biggest challenge that is out there for him in the lightweight division.
Meanwhile, Tsarukyan has been critical of Paddy Pimblett, who appears to be much closer to receiving a shot at the belt following his face off with the champion at UFC 317.
There is also another name in the mix, with Justin Gaethje suggesting that he’ll retire if he doesn’t get the title shot that he believes he is owed by the UFC.
Arman Tsarukyan’s manager responds to Paddy Pimblett claiming he wants to fight Justin Gaethje because he’s a ‘legend’
In a recent interview with One On One, Paddy Pimblett was asked about the potential matchups that are out there for him if he isn’t fighting Ilia Topuria next.
‘The Baddy’ explained why he would favor a fight with Justin Gaethje because of his legend status, making reference to Arman Tsarukyan’s late withdrawal from his UFC 311 title fight when disregarding the top contender.
“I’d fight anyone, as you know. I’m not a—-. Arman’s a very good fighter but no one cares about him, you know what I mean? People just look at him and think, ‘Yeah, you s— yourself [before] fighting Islam. You talk a big game but you don’t back it up.’
“But, everyone knows Justin Gaethje’s a f—— banger. Everyone knows that if you’re fighting Justin Gaethje, you’re going to have a fight and he’s a legend. Arman isn’t. So I’d love to fight another legend in Justin Gaethje.”
While there is no denying that Pimblett versus Gaethje would be a huge fight, Topuria recently suggested that he believes the UFC will push for him to face ‘The Highlight’ next.
That leaves ‘The Baddy’ in an interesting spot where his top two targets might be unavailable for some time.
In a response to the Brit’s recent comments, Tsarukyan’s manager suggested that Pimblett’s reasoning for preferring a fight with Gaethje has an ulterior motive.
“Translation: ‘I lose to Arman, I think I can beat Gaethje'”
Arman Tsarukyan believes there’s one other opponent the UFC might offer him
Speaking on the Overdogs Podcast, Arman Tsarukyan was asked about who he thinks the UFC will offer him if he doesn’t get the next title shot.
Alongside Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett, he said that Dan Hooker could be another option, which would allow him to cement his status as the top contender.
He also has history with Hooker, which would make for an entertaining build-up to the fight, though Tsarukyan isn’t too worried about whatever matchup the UFC choose to give him.
“All of them are good fights for me so it’s easy money.”
We don’t know when Ilia Topuria will be returning to the Octagon at this time but once one of the top lightweight contenders is booked, the landscape of the division will quickly become clear.