Arman Tsarukyan reacts after being snubbed of a title opportunity at UFC 324

Arman Tsarukyan was not happy to learn that Paddy Pimblett will be fighting Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324.

Prior to his dominant submission victory over Dan Hooker in the headliner of last weekend’s UFC Qatar event, Tsarukyan had made it clear that he wanted to make a quick turnaround and challenge Ilia Topuria for the title in January.

However, shortly following his impressive victory, Topuria announced that he was having to take a hiatus from the sport due to some issues in his personal life.

Arman Tsarukyan was not happy with that news and shared the following tweet on ‘X’ voicing his displeasure.

Ilia’s fall-off is wild. from El Matador to El Pato… and now all the way to El Patético and El Panocha

— Arman Tsarukyan UFC (@ArmanUfc) November 26, 2025

“Ilia’s fall-off is wild. from El Matador to El Pato… and now all the way to El Patético and El Panocha.”

While the Topuria matchup would have to wait, Tsarukyan appeared to have clearly established himself as the top threat at 155lbs.

That is why a currently healthy ‘Ahalkalakets’ was disgusted to learn that Dana White and the UFC had booked Paddy Pimblett to fight Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title this January in Las Vegas.

Arman Tsarukyan reacted to the announcement with the following on ‘X‘:

make it make sense 🤦🏻‍♂️

— Arman Tsarukyan UFC (@ArmanUfc) November 28, 2025

“Make it make sense.”

Tsarukyan has gone 10-1 in his last 11 outings. In that stretch, he’s beaten the likes of Hooker, Charles Oliveira, and Beneil Dariush. The lone loss in that stretch was a unanimous decision defeat to Mateusz Gamrot back in 2022.

As for the newly announced UFC 324 main event combatants, Pimblett (23-3 MMA) will enter his first career UFC title bout riding a nine-fight winning streak, with his two most recent triumphs resulting in stoppage victories over Michael Chandler and King Green. ‘The Baddy’ hasn’t tasted defeat since September of 2018, where he dropped a decision to Soren Bak under the Cage Warriors banner.

Meanwhile, Justin Gaethje will be returning to the Octagon for the first time since UFC 313 in March of this year, where he picked up a unanimous decision victory over Rafael Fiziev. Prior to that win, ‘The Highlight’ was coming off a brutal knockout loss to Max Holloway at UFC 300 in April of 2024 (see that here).

Do you think Arman Tsarukyan deserved to receive an offer to compete at UFC 324 this January?