Justin
Gaethje holds Arman
Tsarukyan responsible for his own situation.
Despite Tsarukyan being the top lightweight contender, he has been
sidelined from the title picture. As the champion, Ilia
Topuria, takes a short hiatus, Gaethje (26-5) will fight
Paddy
Pimblett (23-3) for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324
on Saturday in Las Vegas. Gaethje believes Tsarukyan is to
blame for the situation that he is in. Gaethje notes that
“Ahalkalakets” has irked the
UFC multiple times by pulling out of a title fight and then
headbutting his opponent before a fight.
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Multiple Mistakes
“Tsarukyan is definitely probably more deserving,” Gaethje told New
York Post Sports. “But the guy f’ed up multiple times, and this is
something you can’t do. He was gonna fight for the belt, he pulled
out the night before because he couldn’t make weight or… I don’t
think any of us are actually privy to what happened that night…
They put a lot of money, time, and resources into promoting a
fight, and if you f—k it up like that, they’re going to be pissed
off. Then he headbutts Dan Hooker on
the scale. That’s also something you cannot do. He risked losing
another fight the day before the fight.“
Tsarukyan (23-3) initially disappointed the UFC by pulling out of a
title fight against Islam
Makhachev last year. When Makhachev vacated the title and moved
up, Tsarukyan was denied the title shot. Tsarukyan weighed in as
the backup when Topuria defeated Charles
Oliveira to win the vacant title. While Tsarukyan kept calling
for a title shot, Topuria expressed interest in fighting Paddy
Pimblett.
Meanwhile, Gaethje threatened retirement if denied a title shot.
Tsarukyan hoped to secure a title shot with his stoppage win over
Dan
Hooker at UFC Qatar this past November. However, headbutting
Hooker at the weigh ins probably didn’t help Tsarukyan’s cause.
Tsarukyan had also thrown a punch at a fan while walking for his
UFC 300 clash against Oliveira in 2024.
Justin
Gaethje says Arman
Tsarukyan is responsible for his own situation„The guy fd up multiple times, and this is something you can’t do.
They put a lot of money, time, and resources into promoting a
fight, and if you fk it up like that, they’re going to be
pissed.“(Via… pic.twitter.com/djcnVNSbWx
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
January 17, 2026