Outside Source
Tsarukyan was scheduled to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title last year. However, Tsarukyan irked the UFC brass by pulling out a day before the fight, citing a back injury. Despite being the top contender, Tsarukyan was sidelined from the title picture as punishment when Makhachev vacated the title and moved up. To compensate, Tsarukyan weighed in as the backup fighter as Ilia Topuria won the vacant title against Charles Oliveira.
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Tsarukyan (23-3) finally hoped to secure a title shot with his stoppage win over Dan Hooker this past November. However, “Ahalkalakets” had to watch from the wings again as Justin Gaethje won the interim lightweight title against Paddy Pimblett last weekend at UFC 324. Tsarukyan’s withdrawal from the Makhachev fight is seemingly not the only reason he has been denied a title shot so far. Tsarukyan slapped a fan while walking out for his UFC 300 clash against Charles Oliveira in 2024. Tsarukyan was hit with a $ 25,000 fine and a nine-month suspension, which was later reduced to six months. Tsarukyan also headbutted Hooker at the weigh-ins ahead of their UFC Qatar matchup.
‘I’ll Be a Good Boy’
Tsarukyan has apologized to the UFC brass for his mistakes and vows not to repeat them, barring one. Tsarukyan is still confused about how he should react if a fan tries to provoke him while he is walking out for a fight.
“Dana and Hunter, forgive me,” Tsarukyan said on Daniel Cormier’s podcast. “Give me title fight. I’ll be a good boy; I am a good boy. And I’m not gonna hit anybody anymore… For the weight cut, or the punching back, or the headbutting anybody, it’ll never happen again… But I’m going to fight, if someone tries to slap me, what can I do? I’ve got to slap him back, right?”
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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