Arman Tsarukyan thinks Ilia Topuria is a p*ssy.

Following Topuria’s spectacular first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 to capture the vacant lightweight world title, fight fans have been wondering who his first official title defense will come against.

As it stands, everyone seems to be clamoring for Paddy Pimblett to get the nod following his viral face-off with Topuria in Las Vegas.

Then there’s Justin Gaethje, who has threatened to retire from the sport altogether if he doesn’t get the first crack at ‘El Matador.’ But in all the talk about Pimblett and Gaethje, there’s one man who’s being blatantly overlooked.

Sitting on a 9-2 record with a four-fight win streak, Tsarukyan has more than earned his spot as the No. 1 ranked lightweight contender. Unfortunately, Topuria doesn’t see it that way.

“They are gonna give him a fight before the title shot because there’s no way,” Topuria said during a recent livestream with the NELK Boys. “I’m the world champion, I’m never gonna give him a chance to fight for the world title. I would be like, listen, if that’s the case, take my belt. I don’t do it.”

Tsarukyan Snaps Back

Getting wind of Topuria’s comments, Tsarukyan took to social media and absolutely shredded ‘El Matador.’

“Who wants to let ilia know he’s not McGregor, and that he’s making all the champs look bad – champs fight the #1 contender…. but this is the same guy who thinks he’s the “bmf” how do you say “pussy” in Spanish?” Tsarukyan wrote on X.

Tsarukyan was previously scheduled to challenge former lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev in January. Mere hours before fight night, ‘Ahalkalakets’ withdrew from the contest citing a back injury.

The move put Tsarukyan in the UFC dog house for a bit, as Dana White later claimed that Tsarukyan would have to go “back to the drawing board” after bowing out of the biggest opportunity of his career.

Craig Pekios

Craig Pekios is a freelance writer born and raised in Bettendorf, IA. Joining LowKick MMA in May 2022, Craig has more than 4,000 articles published that focus on the world of MMA and boxing, including news, event previews, results, analysis, and op-eds.