Arman Tsarukyan and Justin Gaethje seem to be going back and forth often. With the title shot knocking at the door for the Armenian fighter, an unexpected injury made Tsarukyan pull out of the bout. However, now that Tsarukyan will have to start from scratch again, as per the UFC, he is already looking for his next opponent. And the likely one on his radar is none other than Justin Gaethje.
After coming back from a devastating injury, Gaethje was supposed to face off against Dan Hooker. With Hooker pulling out at the last moment, it was Rafael Fiziev who took the fight. Although Gaethje won the bout, Arman Tsarukyan did not seem impressed.
“You barely got past #11 on short notice, and before that, you got sent to the shadow realm,” said Tsarukyan.
Arman Tsarukyan tells Justin Gaethje he has to go through him before getting a title shot:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 12, 2025
"You barely got past #11 on short notice, and before that, you got sent to the shadow realm." 😳#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/0jCbACo7IL
Well, Tsarukyan has a point. Rafael Fiziev put up a gritty show to make Gaethje face significant problems. While in the initial rounds, Fiziev looked dominant, Gaethje soon regained his composure and won the fight. Nonetheless, this was not the first instance of Tsarukyan going off on Gaethje.
Arman Tsarukyan Dismisses Justin Gaethje Title Aspirations
Justin Gaethje recently called for him to be given a title shot by the UFC. After winning the bout against Fiziev, Gaethje said he had lost only 1 of his last four fights. And that, too, was a ‘BMF’ exhibition match at UFC 300. But Arman Tsarukyan does not think these are enough for him to get a shot at Islam Makhachev.
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“Gaethje wants to fight for the title. It makes sense to fight with me because nobody gonna give him title fight, it’s not gonna be fair. He gotta beat me or Oliveira to get a title fight. I think they gonna give me Oliveira or Gaethje, or maybe title fight. I don’t know yet,” said Tsarukyan.
Arman Tsarukyan doesn't think Justin Gaethje deserves a title shot:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 11, 2025
"Gaethje wants to fight for the title. It makes sense to fight with me because nobody gonna give him title fight, it's not gonna be fair.
He gotta beat me or Oliveira to get a title fight. I think they gonna… pic.twitter.com/pmggxokfry
Thus, it is evident that the heat is brewing up between Tsarukyan and Gaethje. It will be interesting to see whether the UFC sets them up for a fight next.
Also Read: Dan Hooker Fires Back At Arman Tsarukyan Over Nina Marie Interview And Challenges Him For UFC 317
