Paddy Pimblett gave Arman Tsarukyan his flowers, then took most of them back.
Tsarukyan knocked out Mauricio Ruffy with a clinch elbow in the UFC 331 co-main event on Saturday in Los Angeles. Pimblett has feuded with him for years, but he admitted the finish was something special on his YouTube channel.
That was lovely. That was lovely, Arman. That was a nasty elbow, lad. Gotta give him his due. As much as I don’t like him, that was a naughty elbow.
The praise did not last.
I thought he looked pretty —- up until the point of the elbow. His eye’s messed up already. I wish he never landed that, just to see how the second and third would have went.
Pimblett thinks the fight exposed Tsarukyan’s wrestling, since he could not get Ruffy down.
That was a statement. I’d still punch his head in, though. I think that showed holes in his game. His wrestling’s not as good as he thinks it is.
Tsarukyan called for a shot at lightweight champion Justin Gaethje after the win. Pimblett is not convinced he gets it, with Gaethje and Ilia Topuria still going back and forth over Topuria’s claim about Gaethje’s gloves.
Ilia’s trying to say that he had stuff in his gloves, which he definitely never. The commission watches you get your hands wrapped. I think Ilia’s just being a sore loser. He’s being a little —- about it.
He also questioned the quality of the win, noting Ruffy was ranked seventh and Tsarukyan’s previous victory came over Dan Hooker.
