Arman Tsarukyan Plays Matchmaker in UFC Lightweight Title Picture
Arman Tsarukyan used a recent Deep Waters appearance to play matchmaker for the UFC lightweight division, naming the fights he wants while arguing the promotion will protect its biggest names. The No. 2-ranked contender sat with Din Thomas, Jorge Masvidal, Dustin Poirier, and Chris Weidman and started with the championship fight he wants for himself.
Tsarukyan is 23-3 and riding a five-fight winning streak. His last UFC outing was a second-round arm-triangle finish of Dan Hooker in November in Qatar, and he returns against Mauricio Ruffy in a five-round co-main event at UFC 331 on Sept. 19 in Los Angeles.
Justin Gaethje holds the 155-pound title after stopping Ilia Topuria in the fourth round at UFC Freedom 250 in June. Gaethje has since said he is still recovering and does not expect to fight again until 2027, which has left the rest of the division waiting on a title shot that is not immediately available.
Tsarukyan, 29, did not wait for the official pairing. When the panel turned to the championship picture, he put his own name across from the champion.
“Me versus Gaethje,” Tsarukyan said.
That is the fight he has been pushing since Gaethje took the belt. Official rankings still list Topuria at No. 1 and Tsarukyan at No. 2, but Tsarukyan has said a win over Ruffy should put him in line for gold.
He did not stop at his own matchup. After laying out the Gaethje fight, he named the contender bout he wants to see next.
Tsarukyan said he wants Topuria against Paddy Pimblett.
“That’s the fight makes sense,” he said. “But I don’t think so.”
He does not believe the UFC will book it. In his view, the promotion would rather keep both men undamaged than risk a high-stakes loss.
“They’re not going to do that fight,” Tsarukyan said. “They don’t want either guy to lose.”
Pimblett is ranked No. 5 after submitting Benoit Saint Denis in 52 seconds at UFC 329 in July. Topuria is coming off the first loss of his career and is still working back from the facial injuries he suffered against Gaethje, with no return date announced.
Tsarukyan’s read is that the UFC needs both fighters more than it needs that collision right now. He said the company will not take the chance of either man dropping another fight.
“They don’t want Paddy to lose. They don’t want Ilia to lose,” Tsarukyan said. “So they’re going to give to Ilia someone easy.”
That matches comments he made earlier in August, when he floated Michael Chandler as a softer return for Topuria. No such fight has been announced, and Chandler is coming off a knockout loss to Ruffy on the same White House card.
The panel then turned to what a Topuria-Pimblett result would mean. Tsarukyan said a Topuria loss to Pimblett would create a problem, while a Pimblett loss would be easier for the UFC to absorb because Topuria already dropped the title.
Poirier pushed back on the idea that Pimblett is being saved only as a future opponent for Topuria. The former interim champion said he believes the UFC still wants Pimblett in the title mix.
“I feel like they want Paddy to fight for the title again,” Poirier said. “So they’re going to give him easy money.”
Easy money is hard to find at 155 pounds. When the group looked for a softer assignment, Tsarukyan pointed to Max Holloway, the No. 4 lightweight.
The panel did not treat that as a layup. One of the hosts called Holloway a tough fight for Pimblett, and Poirier noted that Charles Oliveira already showed a path when he repeatedly took Holloway down with body locks and trips in their BMF title fight at UFC 326.
That Oliveira win is part of why the division is so jammed. Oliveira is ranked No. 3, holds the BMF title, and has said he is next in line for Gaethje and can wait until 2027 rather than take an eliminator.
Ruffy sits at No. 10 after knockouts of Rafael Fiziev and Chandler and meets Tsarukyan with title-shot implications of his own. Tsarukyan has said he has a verbal understanding with the UFC that beating Ruffy puts him in the title conversation.
The comments matter because lightweight is deep and the champion is not expected back this year. If Tsarukyan is right, Topuria and Pimblett may be steered toward safer opponents while the No. 2 contender tries to lock down the next shot at Gaethje.
UFC 331 is the immediate test. Tsarukyan has to get past Ruffy on Sept. 19 before any of this matchmaking becomes more than a studio exercise, and a win in Los Angeles would put fresh pressure on the UFC to decide who actually fights for the belt when Gaethje is ready.