Arman Tsarukyan doesn’t think Paddy Pimblett should be anywhere near the UFC lightweight title.
At the moment, current champion Ilia Topuria awaits his first challenger, though Pimblett has made a strong case for himself with a 7-0 record in the UFC and an in-cage confrontation with “El Matador” at UFC 317. Tsarukyan was supposed to have challenged for the title already this past January when Islam Makhachev was champion, but a back injury forced Tsarukyan out of that opportunity at the last minute.
Even though he hasn’t fought in over a year, Tsarukyan still believes he should be considered the No. 1 contender, especially compared to Pimblett.
“You’ve got to delete [Pimblett] from the rankings,” Tsarukyan said on the Overdogs Podcast. “He’s not even deserving to be in top 10. He beat the last three guys, it was [Michael] Chandler, he had three losses. It was Bobby Green, he had three or four losses. It was Tony Ferguson, he had eight losses. That’s crazy and you want to bring that guy to fight for the title? You shouldn’t even mention his name, he doesn’t even deserve even mentioning his name.”
Pimblett’s body of work has been heavily scrutinized since he made his UFC debut in 2021. The Englishman has garnered a large following with his exciting offensive style and lively promo skills, but a close call against Jared Gordon at UFC 282 and the lengthy losing streaks of his past three opponents (Michael Chandler, Bobby Green, and Tony Ferguson) has critics poking holes in his contender case.
Tsarukyan hopes Pimblett’s rivalry with Topuria and their in-cage theatrics don’t sway the matchmakers.
“Nobody said he’s getting the title shot,” Tsarukyan said. “So they are still figuring out who is fighting for the title, me, [Justin] Gaethje, or Paddy. But I know they’ve got to put me because I’m the No. 1 contender right now.”
Should Tsarukyan have to fight again to re-earn his title opportunity, he sees a number of veteran names in the mix, including Justin Gaethje or Dan Hooker. Who he has to go through to get to Topuria doesn’t matter to him, though.
“I mean, if it’s not a title fight, it’s probably Gaethje or Pimblett or Hooker,” Tsarukyan said. “I don’t know.”
“If it’s Gaethje, it’s a good fight,” he added. “He’s a good striker, but he used to be a wrestler, so now he strikes more. It’s a good fight for me. All of them are good fights for me, so it’s easy money.”
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