It has been rumored several times that Ilia Topuria will fight in January as the UFC begins a new media rights deal with Paramount. Names such as Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje have been mooted as possible options for Topruia. But the man who had to pull out of his 155-pound title bid at the last minute in January looks set to pursue the lightweight title opportunity in January 2026.
Tsarukyan explained why he doesn’t want to wait between bouts as this is his first fight since beating Charles Oliveira on points at UFC 300 last April. [via MMA Fighting],
“If I perform very well [against Hooker] and the UFC said, ‘Can you fight in January?’ I’m going to take that fight right away…It means the world to me. If I lose, I lose everything. If I win, I win everything. So this is a title fight for me. It’s five rounds, the main event, and I have to win this fight and I get my title fight. It’s an important fight for me, and that’s why I’m focused. I am very focused on this fight.”
Arman Tsarukyan headbutts Dan Hooker before UFC Qatar fight
Arman Tsarukyan got excessively physical during the pre-fight weigh-in in the face-off when he headbutted Dan Hooker. Before the two men were locked in the cage against each other this Saturday at UFC Qatar, Tsarukyan delivered the skull strike, with on-stage security intervening before a major brawl could escalate with the two lightweight main event fighters exchanging words after the incident.
While the stoppage clearly wasn’t something that had enough power behind it, it was clearly made an impact and has added even more gas to the proverbial fire this weekend ahead of this potential UFC lightweight title eliminator.
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