Ilia Topuria is laughing off Arman Tsarukyan’s callout following UFC Qatar.
Tsarukyan smashed Dan Hooker and submitted him in the second round (highlights here), making a very strong case that he should be the next challenger for Ilia Topuria’s lightweight title. Topuria has previously said there’s no way he’d fight Tsarukyan next, but that stance seems to be softening as a potential bout between the two becomes more likely.
“Everybody’s running, especially Ilia,” Tsarukyan said after his win. “There’s just one No. 1 contender, it’s Arman Tsarukyan. Don’t make an easy fight. I’m ready, end of January. Just send me contract.”
Topuria reacted by sharing video of the two encountering each other under seemingly friendly circumstances in Qatar.
“Arman, every time we see each other in person you freeze up like a scared duck with no idea what to do,” Topuria wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “You know I handle you however I want. I fight whoever the UFC chooses. And remember I slapped you and you just laughed, then you go around acting like a gangster.”
“So keep going, you’re on the right path… just a few levels below me, kid.”
Pretty typical trash talk from Ilia, with one important fact included: he fights who the UFC asks him to fight. Topuria spends a lot of time in-between fights saying he wants to fight this fighter and won’t fight that fighter. But in the end he’s never ducked anyone.
So it’s really up to the UFC as to who Topuria will fight next, reportedly in January for a Los Angeles card that’s set to be the first major event of UFC’s Paramount / CBS deal.
