UFC fighter Arman Tsarukyan challenges Justin Gaethje to face him before earning a title shot.
UFC lightweight fighter Justin Gaethje finally redeemed himself after suffering two straight losses in his past outings. He faced Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 in a rematch and once again defeated his opponent. Following his redemption, Gaethje believes he may be ready for a shot at the title, but UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan says the former BMF champion will have to go through him first.
Gaethje initially had the opportunity for a title shot and nearly dropped Dustin Poirier with a head kick at UFC 291, but Poirier came back stronger and defeated Gaethje, earning himself a shot at Makhachev. Gaethje then went on to face Max Holloway and lost his BMF belt via a last-second knockout.
Tsarukyan was scheduled to face Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, but the fighter pulled out of the fight due to an injury and was shortly replaced by Renato Moicano. Due to his withdrawal, UFC CEO Dana White says Tsarukyan might not get a chance at the title anytime soon and will have to work his way toward it. Luckily, the fighter has found a worthy opponent in Gaethje.
While Gaethje believes he has earned himself a title shot, Tsarukyan says the fighter will have to face him first. In a quoted tweet, Tsarukyan responded to Gaethje’s claim to the title: “You barely got past No. 11 on short notice, and before that, you got sent to the shadow realm. If you really want to be the No. 1 contender and fight for the belt, you have to go through me first.”
Unfortunately for Tsarukyan, it seems Gaethje might have the support of UFC higher-ups when it comes to his ongoing title ambitions.
