Arman Tsarukyan on Justin Gaethje: “Get injured in camp and let me step in and get [Ilia Topuria’s] title”

Arman Tsarukyan did not mince words when expressing what he would be keen to see happen with Justin Gaethje , so that the surging 155-pound fighter could move in and get a crack at Ilia Topuria’s crown. The top lightweight contender in the UFC was being asked about prior comments that he has made regarding the 155-pound title unification bout set for the White House being a mismatch.

After becoming the first-ever two-time interim champ in company history when besting Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 in January, Gaethje is now poised to fight divisional kingpin Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 in June.

Tsarukyan was asked if he had any advice for the interim UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje so that Gaethje could make the fight a competitive outing. In an exclusive interview with Red Corner MMA, with an excerpt of this referenced interaction posted to their X account, Arman Tsarukyan responded to that reporter’s inquiry as he said [via RCMMA translations],

“I would recommend [Justin Gaethje] to get injured during his camp and let me step up and get the title. After that, [Justin Gaethje] can fight me.”

Arman Tsarukyan intimates there is a plan in place for his UFC return

Arman Tsarukyan has been out of the UFC octagon for his last several competitive showings which have included efforts with Real American Freestyle. It seems like Tsarukyan is preparing to don the gloves again though as the Armenian fighter mentioned during the interview referenced above that he was in talks with Hunter Campbell.

Tsarukyan mentioned that Campbell gave him a date for his next fight although the widely known MMA fighter was sparse on broader details. Tsarukyan choked out ex-UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev at Hype Brazil and will again don the RAF singlet again under the Real American Fresstyle banner by month’s end as well.

Arman Tsarukyan will run it back in a bad blood filled outing with Georgio Poullas after their hectic clash that broke out into a full-on fight at RAF 6. On March 28, the sequel to the Tsarukyan and Poullas series will transpire at RAF 7.