Arman Tsarukyan’s former opponent says that he turned down an opportunity to face him for a second time.
While Daniel Cormier disputed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s recent claims, many agree that Tsarukyan is the biggest threat to Ilia Topuria’s lightweight title.
The man who many believe to be the rightful number one contender is still seemingly one fight away from earning a shot at the 155 pound belt.
A recent announcement has only added to this after Tsarukyan was booked for a grappling match on September 19 to keep himself busy away from the Octagon.
With an opponent yet to be confirmed, one of UFC’s top lightweight contenders has now claimed that he was offered this matchup.
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Mateusz Gamrot says he turned down offer to face Arman Tsarukyan in a grappling match
Arman Tsarukyan’s third grappling match of the year is booked for ACBJJ in Moscow on September 19.
The #8-ranked UFC lightweight, Mateusz Gamrot, recently wrote on X that he turned down the opportunity to be his opponent for this matchup.
Gamrot is currently the last man to have beaten Tsarukyan inside the Octagon, having won a contentious unanimous decision over five rounds in June of 2022 following a very close fight.
It was reported earlier this year that a rematch between them in the UFC was turned down by Tsarukyan, who criticized the promotion’s ‘disrespectful’ offer.
Instead, Gamrot went on to defeat L’udovit Klein in May, returning to the win column following a loss to Dan Hooker at UFC 305 which ended his three-fight streak.
In the Polish contender’s social media post, he echoed a similar statement that he has made in the past, calling for them to face each other for a second time in the UFC, offering Tsarukyan the opportunity for revenge.
“I got offer for a grappling match with Arman again. People want to see us fight each other. I think we should do it in the UFC first”
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Mateusz Gamrot has been in a similar position to Arman Tsarukyan in recent times
While Arman Tsarukyan is much higher than Mateusz Gamrot in the lightweight pecking order, it would have made some sense for him to try and avenge his last defeat.
The matchup would have also worked for both men because they’ve had similar difficulties in getting opponents who are near them in the rankings to step inside the Octagon.
| Top ten UFC lightweight rankings | UFC lightweight |
| Champion | Ilia Topuria |
| #1 | Islam Makhachev |
| #2 | Arman Tsarukyan |
| #3 | Max Holloway |
| #4 | Charles Oliveira |
| #5 | Justin Gaethje |
| #6 | Dan Hooker |
| #7 | Paddy Pimblett |
| #8 | Mateusz Gamrot |
| #9 | Beneil Dariush |
| #10 | Rafael Fiziev |
It doesn’t look like any of the top lightweights, outside of Dan Hooker, are interested in facing Tsarukyan and the same can be said for all the names that are higher than Gamrot.
It seems incredibly likely that they’re both going to have to fight down the rankings to stay active, even if they deserve to face someone that is above them.