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Arman Tsarukyan gave a fiery response to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev's recent comments about him turning down a UFC 302 title fight.
Tsarukyan and Makhachev have been embroiled in a fierce competitive rivalry since the Armenian fighter's UFC debut. In 2019, Tsarukyan fought Makhachev in a short-notice UFC debut, giving him one of his career's toughest fights.
Although Tsarukyan lost the fight by unanimous decision, his performance was widely appreciated and he has been campaigning for a rematch since.
Fast forward to 2024, Tsarukyan defeated former champion Charles Oliveira in the title eliminator bout at UFC 300. However, he refused to challenge Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 302, which takes place six weeks after Tsarukyan's win.
While speaking to the New York Post in a recent interview, Makhachev criticized the 27-year-old for turning down the opportunity. Tsarukyan, who had suffered the consequences of fighting Makhachev on short notice, took to X and accused the champion of trying to take advantage of the situation:
"That's just not truth. The truth is that you want to fight me on short notice to have an extra advantage. It won't happen again though. When was the last time you fought 2 times in 6 weeks? @MAKHACHEVMMA"
Check out Arman Tsarukyan's tweet below:
UFC lightweight thinks the promotion will favor other fighters over Arman Tsarukyan to challenge Islam Makhachev for the title
UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker, who has shared the octagon with the likes of Islam Makhachev and Dustin Poirier in recent years, thinks that Arman Tsarukyan might have to wait before he fights for the lightweight title.
During a recent interview with The Allstar, Hooker said that the UFC does not take kindly to fighters who turn down title fights. He added:
"McGregor with the Chandler win, one of them has to... They win at the end of June and they immediately jump ahead of Arman. Because Arman turned that fight down. Max Holloway is immediately ahead of Arman in terms of the lightweight title picture."
Catch Hooker's comments below (10:20):
Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler will headline the upcoming UFC 303 pay-per-view event on June 29. Meanwhile, Max Holloway, who defeated Justin Gaethje to win the ceremonial BMF title at UFC 300, has emerged as a serious threat to the lightweight division's top contender.
It might be a while before the UFC announces the next challenger to the lightweight title as Makhachev is currently scheduled to fight Poirier at UFC 302 on June 1.
