Arman Tsarukyan has said he would fight Paddy Pimblett this summer in a UFC lightweight title eliminator.
Tsarukyan is the current No. 1 contender to the lightweight strap, having defeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in his last fight.
The Armenian was meant to fight Islam Makhachev for the title in January, but the UFC 311 main event was scrapped at the last minute when Tsarukyan suffered an injury to his back.
This put Tsarukyan in Dana White‘s bad books, as the UFC CEO confirmed that he would not be thrust back into an immediate title shot after Makhachev defeated late replacement Renato Moicano.
Makhachev has since decided to vacate his lightweight title, with Ilia Topuria fighting Oliveira for that honour at UFC 317 next month.
Tsarukyan is currently waiting to hear from UFC representatives regarding his next fight, and he would welcome a clash with Pimblett.
“[Pimblett] looked very good in his last fight,” Tsarukyan told Red Corner MMA.
“Now, we can say that he can beat top 10 fights. He’s number eight [in the rankings] or something, and he’s not gonna fight very soon.
“Maybe he wants to fight at the end of this year, but I wanna fight this summer and then at the end of this year.
“I’ll take [a fight with Pimblett in the 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 get more … fans from the UK.”
Islam Makhachev is vacating his UFC lightweight titleGettyUFC lightweight rankings
Champion: N/A
Arman Tsarukyan Charles Oliveira Justin Gaethje Max Holloway Dustin Poirier Dan Hooker Mateusz Gamrot Paddy Pimblett Beneil Dariush Renato Moicano Rafael Fiziev Michael Chandler Benoit Saint-Denis Grant Dawson Joel AlvarezPimblett is undefeated in the UFC since his promotional debut in September 2021, finishing three of his seven opponents in the first round.
‘The Baddy’ dominated Chandler in his last bout at UFC 314 in April, stopping the American in the third round following some nasty ground and pound.
He is now just one fight away from a title shot and could find himself contesting for gold very soon.
Ex-featherweight champion Topuria fights former lightweight king Oliveira for the belt at 155 lbs next month.
Pimblett has admitted he wants Topuria to win that fight as it would make his title shot inevitable.
“[It would be] sick, four years in the making,” Pimblett said, referring to his longtime rivalry with Topuria, which dates back to when the pair were involved in a scrap outside of the Octagon at a London hotel in March 2022.
Topuria fights Oliveira for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 317 on June 29Getty Tsarukyan defeated Oliveira in his last appearance at UFC 300GettyThe UFC are yet to announce how Pimblett’s future will look in the promotion.
Pimblett could fight someone like Tsarukyan, but he may favour an easier fight with a name like No. 3 ranked Justin Gaethje, who defeated Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 in his last fight.
Nonetheless, victory over either man would tee Pimblett up perfectly for a title shot against the winner of Topuria and Oliveira.
The Liverpudlian has admitted himself that a fight against Topuria would be the biggest the UFC can make, alongside Tom Aspinall vs Jon Jones.
And he’s right, given the mutual hatred shared by both fighters and the storyline involved.
Both men have traded various online blows following their 2019 encounter and would make for an absolute spectacle if they wound up fighting for lightweight gold.
Pimblett could meet Topuria for the UFC lightweight title after he fights someone like TsarukyantalkSPORT / Jordan Brightman-Charles Read More Details
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