“I’m never going to give him a chance to fight for the title. I will be like, listen, if that’s the case, take my belt. I don’t do it.” That’s UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria firmly shutting the door on a future title clash with #2-ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan. Despite the Armenian elite’s status in the division, his current situation with Dana White & Co. has left him in limbo, and ‘El Matador’ isn’t shy about where he stands.
Ilia pointed to what he sees as a troubling pattern. Ilia Topuria referenced Arman’s last-minute withdrawal from UFC 311. That jab stems from Arman Tsarukyan pulling out just days before the event, officially because of a “back injury.” But many, including Dana White, suspect the real reason was a botched weight cut. Since then, things have only gotten worse for Arman. Dana White reportedly said Tsarukyan would be “going back to the drawing board.”.
As a result, Arman Tsarukyan has become what fighters dread: a high-risk, low-reward matchup. The calculus is clear. Beat Arman, and there’s little reward — he’s not a needle-mover. Lose to him, and your momentum gets derailed. It’s a gamble most fighters aren’t willing to take — and Ilia Topuria knows it. Now even Paddy Pimblett is echoing the Georgian’s stance. Rather than entertain a fight with Arman, the Liverpool star has his sights set higher.
Speaking with One on One MMA, Pimblett didn’t mince words: “Not fighting anyone, Arman, lad — no one cares about him. People just love him and think you’re shitting yourself if you don’t fight Islam. It’s all a big game, but he doesn’t back it up. Everyone knows Justin Gaethje’s a f*cking banger. If you fight Justin Gaethje, you’re guaranteed a war. He’s a legend.”
“Everyone knows Justin Gaethje is a f*cking banger [fight] and he’s a legend. Arman is not. So I’d love to fight another legend, Justin Gaethje.”
– Paddy Pimblett would rather fight Justin Gaethje than Arman Tsarukyan
via one MMA
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— Dovy (@DovySimuMMA) July 25, 2025
While Paddy Pimblett didn’t hold back in slamming Arman Tsarukyan, he did speak one undeniable truth — Justin Gaethje is a guaranteed war inside the cage. And history backs him up. Every time ‘the Highlight’ steps into the Octagon, violence follows. That raw intensity was on full display at UFC 300, when Gaethje and Max Holloway unleashed a storm of chaos and brutality in a fight many hailed as the greatest in UFC history.
Fast forward to UFC 313, and Justin Gaethje did it again — this time in a short-notice brawl with Rafael Fiziev. The performance was so electrifying that Dana White publicly stated Gaethje’s “odds” for a title shot are “pretty good.”
Justin Gaethje issues Dana White & Co. an ultimatum for a title shot against Ilia Topuria.
The UFC lightweight division is in the middle of a major shake-up. With Islam Makhachev moving up to welterweight and Dustin Poirier officially retiring, only a handful of familiar names from the past decade remain, most notably Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. But that era is fading fast.
After his loss at UFC 317, Charles Oliveira appears to be out of the title picture, with signs pointing toward an imminent retirement. Justin Gaethje seems to understand the shift all too well. In the aftermath of UFC 317, ‘The Highlight’— through his manager Ali Abdelaziz — sent a simple message to Dana White and UFC matchmakers: if he doesn’t get the next title shot against reigning champion Ilia Topuria, he’s ready to walk away.
“Justin is a man of strong principles,” confirmed Abdelaziz. UFC President Dana White, never one to back down from fighter ultimatums, didn’t hold back in his response to Justin Gaethje’s threat. “If you’re thinking about retiring, you know how I feel about that. You should probably retire. We love Justin Gaethje…But, to say — I am retiring if I don’t get a title shot — that’s pretty wacky,“ said Dana White.
Now, with a new champion reigning over the lightweight division, the spotlight shifts to what’s next. Should Ilia Topuria’s first title defense come against the all-action Justin Gaethje or the surging contender Arman Tsarukyan? Drop your pick in the comments below.
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