Arman Tsarukyan still isn’t a fan of Paddy Pimblett, and why would he be when Pimblett is taking everything Arman worked for with his UFC 324 interim title shot against Justin Gaethje?
The No. 1 ranked lightweight Tsarukyan has been a busy man, beating Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar and going 5-0-1 in grappling competitions, including an impressive win this weekend at Real American Freestyle 05 against Lance Palmer. Pimblett, on the other hand, hasn’t fought since an April 2025 win over Michael Chandler.
Maybe that’s because Tsarukyan keeps doing dumb stuff like punching fans in the stands and headbutting his opponents. But Arman believes it’s all about UFC pushing Paddy Pimblett to a false title.
“Everybody knows, Paddy Pimblett, they want to make him a champion because it’s his [only] chance to be a champion,” Tsarukyan said following his RAF05 win. “They know if they put me against him, he’s going to lose and his star is going to be gone. Gaethje is easy money for him. He’s old, he has maybe one or two fights left. So that’s why they give [Pimblett] interim title because he’s not going to be a real champion, because there’s Ilia Topuria and I never think he can beat Ilia Topuria.”
Tsarukyan also doesn’t see Pimblett beating him.
“I’m a nightmare for him and he knows that if we’re going to fight, he’s going to lose,” he said. “He’s going to try not to fight me his whole life. I hope that Justin Gaethje is going to knock him out and send him back to England and he can eat his, I don’t know what he’s eating there, chicken or whatever.”
While Tsarukyan believes Gaethje is the latest old soldier being sent to the slaughter so they can set up a Paddy Pimblett vs. Ilia Topuria superfight, he’s still hoping Gaethje wins because Justin has welcomed a fight with “Ahalkalakets.”
“I want Justin to beat Paddy because Justin, he’s going to fight with me,” Tsarukyan told Helen Yee. “But Paddy, if Paddy wins he’s going to try to avoid me, try not to fight me because he knows he’s not man like Justin.”
Gaethje is pretty much the only guy at 155 who has been willing to consider Tsarukyan as an opponent, so it’s pretty essential to Tsarukyan’s title aspirations that he wins.
“I’m going to get champion this year,” Tsarukyan declared. “Hopefully it’s in summer, or in the end of the year I’ll fight for the belt, for the title. And I can’t wait. It hasn’t been confirmed yet because there’s Ilia [Topuria]. If Ilia fights, I’ve got to wait. If Ilia isn’t going to fight in the summer, I’m the next for the belt.”
