Outside Source
Tsarukyan (23-3) was officially the backup fighter for the lightweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 last weekend at the White House. However, Tsarukyan had previously clarified that he would only weigh in as the backup fighter if he saw some serious chance of someone pulling out. “Ahalkalakets” eventually chose not to weigh in as the backup and wrestled Tony Ferguson at RAF 10 instead. Meanwhile, Diego Lopes, who was already scheduled to fight Steve Garcia in a featherweight matchup at the White House, also weighed in as the backup for the main event between Topuria and Gaethje.
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Volkanovski believes Tsarukyan hurt his chances in the UFC by choosing not to weigh in as the backup. According to the UFC featherweight champion, the UFC likes company men and does good by them. Volkanovski cites the example of Lopes, who has stepped up on short notice on multiple occasions. Lopes, in turn, has been a part of three historical cards: UFC 300, Noche UFC at the Sphere and UFC Freedom 250. The Brazilian also received two title shots against Volkanovski within nine months, coming up short on both occasions.
Better to Be a Company Man
“So, Arman not doing that I think is gonna hurt him,” Volkanovski said on the “Bussin With the Boys” podcast. “The UFC, they like to favor you if you do them a favor and be company man, they will look after you. Like Lopes, look at him. Look at the opportunities that bloke’s getting. He was at all of them [the big events], so they’re like, ‘We’ll give him this, We’ll give him that.’ He got two title fights in a row. You do these things, you’re exciting, and you’re a company man… they’ll look after you.”
Himself a company man, Volkanovski fought Islam Makhachev in a rematch in 2023 on 12 days’ notice. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan is already being deprived of a lightweight title shot since pulling out of a scheduled title challenge against Islam Makhachev last year. Not weighing in as the backup at the White House isn’t likely to increase Tsarukyan’s chances of getting a title shot.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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