Arman Tsarukyan pitches UFC to book Grand Prix to fix log-jammed lightweight title picture

Top UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan wants the promotion to revert to an old format to decide the next lightweight title shot.

Arman Tsarukyan remains the odd man out in the UFC lightweight title picture ahead of UFC 324 this weekend in Las Vegas.

Top contenders Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje headline a stacked card this Saturday at UFC 324, featuring their interim lightweight title fight. Undisputed champion Ilia Topuria is taking an indefinite absence from competition, giving way to the Pimblett vs. Gaethje matchup.

That leaves Tsarukyan without a clear timeline for another title shot, after he withdrew from his scheduled bout with Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 last year. He most recently submitted Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar in November to get back into the mix.

But Tsarukyan is one of several top names who make intriguing cases for a shot at the undisputed belt, including the Gaethje vs. Pimblett winner.

Arman Tsarukyan calls for an 8-man lightweight Grand Prix to settle title shot debate

In a recent appearance on the One Night with Steiny podcast, Tsarukyan proposed a unique solution to solving the lightweight division’s title debate.

“I would like to do in the UFC like a Grand Prix,” Tsarukyan said.

“Eight of the best fighters fight for the title… In the Grand Prix, you get there, eight of the best fighters and in six weeks, one champion. It doesn’t matter if you get hurt or what happens with you, you’re supposed to fight.

“If you’re not fighting, you pull out, the next one is coming.” (h/t Bloody Elbow)

UFC legend Chael Sonnen recently implored the matchmakers to ‘forgive’ Tsarukyan and grant him a title shot for his next fight. UFC CEO Dana White recently admitted that Tsarukyan’s headbutt of Hooker during their weigh-in faceoff played a role in his exclusion from the UFC 324 interim title bout.

The UFC has hosted several tournaments, mostly in the early years of the promotion, during its existence. The last Grand Prix was a one-night competition at UFC 23 in 1999.