Arman Tsarukyan: Ilia Topuria Should Vacate UFC Title If He Won’t Face Me

Arman Tsarukyan urges Ilia Topuria to vacate the lightweight title instead of ducking opponents. 

Tsarukyan (23-3) headlined UFC Qatar against Dan Hooker on Saturday. Dana White had declared that the fight is a potential lightweight title eliminator. “Ahalakalaets” dominantly finished Hooker (24-13) with an arm-triangle choke in the second round. 

Meanwhile, Topuria’s brother, Aleksandre, earned his second UFC win against Bekzat Almakhan on the same card. While Ilia was in attendance at UFC Qatar, he didn’t call out Tsarukyan. Tsarukyan recalls Topuria threatening retirement if forced to fight him for his first title defense. Tsarukyan urges “El Matador” to vacate the belt if he wants to avoid tough competition.

‘I Can Fight with Anybody’

“He said, ‘If you’re gonna give me Arman, I’m gonna leave this title.’ So he should leave the title and give me anybody,” Tsarukyan said at the post-fight press confernece. “I’m not gonna look for easy fights. I can fight with anybody. UFC knows I’m open to anybody. He’s trying not to call my name, he knows that the No. 1 and the real fighter is me.”

While Tsarukyan was originally supposed to challenge Islam Makhachev for the title earlier this year, he was forced out with an injury. Tsarukyan was deprived of a title shot when Makhachev vacated the belt. Topuria instead vacated his featherweight title and knocked out Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight strap. While Tsarukyan has since been calling out Topuria, the champion has expressed preference for Paddy Pimblett. 

This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com

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