Arman Tsarukyan likes the idea of fighting Paddy Pimblett next but sooner rather than later.
Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) was left out of the title picture after the promotion opted to match up Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title in the UFC 317 headliner on June 28 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
That’s due to Tsarukyan’s last-minute withdrawal from his title fight against then-lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 in January, where he pulled out from a back injury the day before the fight. A far-from-pleased Dana White said Tsarukyan will have to earn his way back to the title.
But against whom? Shortly after suggesting Justin Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), Tsarukyan says why not Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) if the fight can happen in summer.
“He looked very good in his last fight,” Tsarukyan told Red Corner MMA of Pimblett. “Now we can say he can beat top-10 fighters. He’s No. 8 or something, and he’s not going to fight very soon. Maybe he wants to fight at the end of this year, but I want to fight this summer and the end of this year. I’ll take that (summer) because he has a big name, he just beat Michael Chandler, and he has a six or seven-(fight) win streak. He’s never lost in the UFC. It makes sense to get back and to get more fans from the U.K.”
However, Tsarukyan may not be on Pimblett’s radar. Not only is Pimblett targeting Gaethje next, he’s looking at the October pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi, and Tsarukyan isn’t willing to wait that long.