Arman Tsarukyan has come out against a Paddy Pimblett title shot after the star’s strong words.
The UFC lightweight wants a piece of champion Ilia Topuria himself, but has so far been out of contention despite his second place ranking.
Instead, it is rising star Pimblett who has been touted as the next in line, as the fighter has laid claim to Topuria’s rapid rise.
Tsarukyan has been touted as a potential opponent for ‘The Baddy’ but was snubbed by Paddy recently, with Justin Gaethje preferred.
Arman Tsarukyan wants ‘undeserving’ Paddy Pimblett ‘deleted’ from UFC lightweight rankings
Now he has broken his silence on the potential fight with the Scouse mixed martial artist, even making a bold claim about his position in the top 10 of the division.
In an interview on the Overdogs podcast, the Armenian said: “You’ve got to delete (Pimblett) from the rankings. He’s not even deserving to be in the top 10.
“He beat the last three guys; it was (Michael) Chandler, he had three losses. It was Bobby Green, he had three or four losses. It was Tony Ferguson, he had eight losses. That’s crazy and you want to bring that guy to fight for the title?”
His last performance against Michael Chandler set the expectations of the 30-year-old through the roof when he finished the American on the floor with vicious strikes.
While the MMA world was impressed by this, Arman could not care less and doubled down on his view about the star’s world championship hopes.
“You shouldn’t even mention his name, he doesn’t even deserve mentioning his name,” he said.
The claim to being the number one contender does lie with ‘Akhalkalakets’, with a win against the Spaniard’s most recent opponent Charles Oliveira and a knockout of Beneil Dariush.
Arman Tsarukyan ‘stuck’ fighting me, says fan-favourite UFC star
Even though he has turned his focus towards the title picture, he has been called out by a fan-favourite who isn’t shying away from a challenge.
Dan Hooker believes Tsarukyan is the hardest fight in the 155 division and has called him out because the title picture is currently crowded.
Speaking to Submission Radio, he said: “He’s stuck fighting me. He has got to fight me to get back in the mix and to get a title shot.
“And that is the fight I want and not because he is a pr- – – and I hate him but because I genuinely think he is the hardest fight… He is the best at winning fights.”
The New Zealander has bounced back since his defeat to British featherweight Arnold Allen with a three-fight win streak.
A Hooker fight makes the most sense with rumours of ‘El Matador’ possibly taking on ‘The Highlight’ Gaethje.