Arman Tsarukyan says he is the only logical next challenger for new UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje and has made clear he wants the title shot immediately.
Tsarukyan made his case on The Ariel Helwani Show following Gaethje’s shocking upset of Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250.
It has to be me. Like, who else? Come on. What are they going to do? It’s me. I want to beat Justin Gaethje. I want to beat everybody. And when Ilia is ready, if I’m the champion, I would do the same thing Justin did — even worse.
Tsarukyan submitted Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar last November for his fifth consecutive win. He was passed over for the interim title fight earlier this year when Gaethje was matched with Paddy Pimblett instead, and served as the backup fighter for UFC Freedom 250 before opting not to cut weight for a standby role.
His path to a title shot has been complicated by pulling out of a rematch with Islam Makhachev on short notice, though he believes his recent performances have re-established his number one contender status.