Arman Tsarukyan shared his thoughts on Ilia Topuria`s performance at UFC 317, Joe Rogan`s decision to bring Paddy Pimblett into the octagon, and his own claim for the next lightweight title shot.
Topuria impressively secured the vacant lightweight title in the main event this past Saturday by knocking out Charles Oliveira in the first round. While Topuria had predicted a victory, the swiftness of the finish was particularly striking, even for Tsarukyan, who witnessed it cageside.
“I was impressed because it happened in the first round,” Tsarukyan stated in an interview. “But I knew he has one of the best boxing in our division right now. His best weapon is boxing. When he knocked him out like that, I was surprised. He just fold straight. It was a good knockout.”
Strategically, Tsarukyan admitted he was rooting for Topuria to win the fight.
“When the fight started, I wanted Topuria to win, because, for me, it’s easier to fight Topuria than Oliveira,” Tsarukyan explained. “For my style. Because I like to take down people. When you take down Charles Oliveira, he can still choke you or do submissions. Topuria is going to try to get up. He’s going to defend. And then you can just go 1000 times to take him down because there’s no problems on the ground. He’s not going to try to choke you or something.”
However, while he appreciated Topuria`s performance, Tsarukyan was critical of the events that followed the fight.
After his victory, Topuria called out Paddy Pimblett, who was also at cageside. UFC commentator Joe Rogan then invited Pimblett into the cage for an impromptu face-off. UFC CEO Dana White later commented that this shouldn`t have happened, a sentiment Tsarukyan echoed.
“It was a Joe Rogan mistake,” Tsarukyan asserted. “Joe Rogan called him. It was a Joe Rogan mistake, and he shouldn’t even call his name and bring him to the octagon. He called out Paddy to come to the octagon. I was surprised, but when Dana said, ‘It shouldn’t be like that,’ I said, OK, hopefully he’s not fighting for the title.”
Tsarukyan expressed frustration initially, feeling the situation resembled “WWE” rather than a sport focused on merit. “For 20, 30 minutes I was, of course, upset, because I said, ‘This is not sport, this is WWE. They can do whatever they want to do,`” he continued. “I’ve been fighting with everybody and had a good winning streak with top fighters. But then, when I listened to Dana’s interview about Paddy, I said, OK, hopefully he’s not fighting for the title. They must put me on the title because I’m No. 1 contender, most deserving fighter right now. After me, they can fight. But next it’s me, for sure.”
While the next challenger for Topuria`s title remains unconfirmed, with names like Pimblett and Justin Gaethje also in contention, Tsarukyan is confident he possesses the skills to defeat the new champion.
“He never fought with wrestlers like me, who know freestyle wrestling,” Tsarukyan claimed. He cited Bryce Mitchell as an example, noting that despite being a featherweight, Mitchell was able to take Topuria down and control him. “Bryce Mitchell, as the worst fighter at 145, he took him down and held him. He got his single-leg and even he took him down, and he couldn’t escape. He was pulling guard. If you’re good on the ground, you never pull guard. You’re trying to sweep or get up from there. I can tell he’s not high level.”
