Tsarukyan is widely viewed as the top possible contender for the UFC Lightweight Championship. With Ilia Topuria on hiatus due to personal circumstances, an interim title fight has been booked between Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje for UFC 324. This has left Tsarukyan looking on the outside again.
The UFC’s problem with Tsarukyan stems from his inability to compete in a scheduled title fight against Islam Makhachev in January. It was a highly anticipated bout, but the UFC had to wait just hours before the weigh-ins. There had been a lot of back and forth about whether Tsarukyan was to blame for his back injury due to poor weight cutting.
During the UFC 323 post-fight press conference, White made his stance on Tsarukyan clear (via MMA Junkie).
“You can’t do that,” White said. “You can’t get the opportunity and it can’t end like that. He’s got to fight his way back. … He knows what’s going on. I don’t care what the others say. He knows what’s going on, and he’s got to fight his way back to that title.”
Tsarukyan is on a five-fight winning streak and is 10-1 in his last eleven bouts. It’s clear to MMA experts that Tsarukyan’s skills could cause problems for anyone weighing 155 pounds. The problem is that Tsarukyan doesn’t have the bigger star appeal at the moment to overcome the aforementioned UFC 311 incident.
For now, Tsarukyan will have to remain ready in case an injury occurs that disrupts UFC’s plans. At that point, the top MMA promotion may need the services of ‘Ahalkalakets’. Time will tell if that opportunity presents itself, but for now Tsarukyan is wondering how long it will be before he gets another chance.
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