Arman Tsarukyan walked into UFC Qatar knowing the Topuria questions were coming. He shrugged them off all week, stayed locked in on Dan Hooker, and refused to fuel the rivalry before business was handled. However, the moment he submitted Hooker in the second round, he pivoted straight toward the champ with zero hesitation.
Topuria has held the lightweight title since July, but no contender has been announced for his first defence. Tsarukyan made it clear he believes the choice isn’t up for debate.
“I didn’t want to mention Ilia [too much] because I was focused on my fight,” Tsarukyan said at the UFC Qatar post-fight press conference. “After today, I’m going to try to again create some crazy videos that are going to be viral and try to make a joke and to bring a lot of eyes for that fight. Because it’s a media sport, too. You’ve got to be a good fighter and a good showman.
“In my mind, I can strike with him in the long distance but when he wants to try to box me and throw his hard punch, I’m going to shoot and take him down. I believe in myself and I know I can beat him so easy as well.”
There was one moment during fight week where Tsarukyan and Topuria were supposedly right next to each other. Neither reacted, and Tsarukyan didn’t even realize they crossed paths. Even then, he wasn’t trying to spark a pre-fight scene.
“To be honest, I didn’t actually see him either,” Tsarukyan said. “If I did know that it was him, I didn’t realize it in the moment. But if I did know it was him, I would probably try to find him, maybe see his gaze and look in his eyes.
“But to be honest, we have nothing personal between us. This is all media, this is all hype. Obviously, we’re trying to hype up the fight but specifically personal, we don’t have anything. Because if we had anything, I’m sure we would take care of it by now.”
However, Ilia Topuria didn’t keep that same neutral energy. He fired back immediately online, rejecting Tsarukyan’s callouts and doubling down on the “ducking” narrative.
“Arman, every time we see each other in person you freeze up like a scared duck with no idea what to do,” Topuria wrote. “You know I handle you however I want. I fight whoever the UFC chooses. And remember I slapped you and you just laughed, then you go around acting like a gangster. So keep going, you’re on the right path… just a few levels below me, kid.”
Tsarukyan responded with the same straight-forward energy he brings to every fight.
“Bro, you touched my neck like we were taking a family photo and now you’re calling it a slap online?,” Tsarukyan wrote on Twitter. “The clip is clear – your insecurity’s even clearer. I don’t need to act tough for Twitter, my work is inside the cage. If you want to know what a real slap feels like, I’ll be happy to educate you. See you soon, El Pato.”
This whole back-and-forth comes after Tsarukyan missed out on a title shot earlier in the year when he suffered an injury hours before the UFC 311 weigh-ins. That opportunity was supposed to be his showdown with Islam Makhachev. Since then, Makhachev vacated lightweight gold and went on to take the UFC welterweight title, while Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira for the 155-pound crown at UFC 317.
Now, Arman Tsarukyan is riding a five-fight winning streak and a 10-1 run in his last 11 fights. He hasn’t lost since June 2022, and many analysts agree he’s the toughest matchup available for Topuria.
Tsarukyan dominated Hooker from start to finish in Doha and didn’t hide his willingness to turn around quickly if the UFC asks.
He says he respects the business, the hype, and the media side of things, but when the cage door closes, none of that matters. For Tsarukyan, this isn’t personal. It’s simple, beat Topuria, take the title, and prove he’s the most complete lightweight in the world.
