Arman
Tsarukyan believes no one in the lightweight division can beat
him right now.
Justin
Gaethje (28-5) challenged Ilia
Topuria (17-1) for the undisputed lightweight title at
UFC White House last weekend. Gaethje handed Topuria a brutal
beating, forcing a corner stoppage at the end of the fourth round.
“The Highlight” became the undisputed lightweight champion in one
of the greatest upsets in UFC title fight history.
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Currently rallying for the next lightweight title shot, Tsarukyan
(23-3) believes he is equipped to beat both Gaethje and Topuria. If
Tsarukyan is champion by the time Topuria recovers, “Ahalkalkets”
would like to hand him a beating worse than Gaethje did. Tsarukyan
currently doesn’t see any threat in the lightweight division since
former champ Islam
Makhachev moved up to welterweight.
Supremely Confident
“I want to beat Justin
Gaethje. I want to beat everybody,” Tsarukyan said on “The
Ariel Helwani Show.” “And when Ilia is gonna be ready, if I’m gonna
be a champion, I would like to do [to him] same as Justin did, even
worse… I know I can beat Ilia, and I know how I can beat Justin…
Only one guy [Islam
Makhachev] who was tough, and he moved up to 170. Nobody in
lightweight division can beat me right now.”
Tsarukyan suffered a decision loss against Makhachev in his
UFC debut in 2019. While Tsarukyan was scheduled to fight
Makhachev for the title in a rematch last year, “Ahalkalakets”
pulled out a day before the fight due to an injury. That withdrawal
has cost Tsarukyan heavily, as he has since been sidelined from the
title picture despite widely being considered the most deserving
contender.