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Ilia Topuria's face-off with Paddy Pimblett at UFC 317 led fans to believe that the promotion was favoring Pimblett as the next challenger to the newly crowned lightweight champion. However, Dana White's comments in the post-fight press conference suggested that there were no plans to bring Pimblett into the octagon for a face-off.
In a recent interview with Daniel Cormier, No.1-ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan explained that the face-off occurred due to an error by Joe Rogan during Topuria's octagon interview:
"It was a Joe Rogan mistake... He shouldn't even [have] called his name and bring him to the octagon. I was surprised"
When asked to share his immediate thoughts watching Topuria and Pimblett facing off in the octagon, Tsarukyan replied:
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"For the first 20-30 minutes I was upset, of course. I said, 'This is not sport, this is WWE.' They can do whatever they want to do. I've been fighting everybody and had a good win streak with top fighters. When I listened to Dana's interview about Paddy, I said, 'Okay, hopefully he's not fighting for the title.' They must put me in the title fight because I'm the No.1 contender and the most deserving fighter right now."
Check out Arman Tsarukyan's comments below (7:30):
Tsarukyan was previously scheduled to challenge former champion Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in January. However, he was forced to pull out due to a back injury.
The Armenian weighed in as the backup fighter for the vacant lightweight title fight between Topuria and Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. Following Topuria's first-round KO win, Tsarukyan's name surfaced as one of the frontrunners for the next title shot, given his ranking and win streak.
Paddy Pimblett on why fight against Ilia Topuria matters
Many observers believe that Arman Tsarukyan could pose a serious threat to Ilia Topuria due to his strong wrestling background. However, 'El Matador' has consistently expressed a desire to face Paddy Pimblett, suggesting a fight between them in Spain could generate significant commercial success for the sport.
Reflecting a similar sentiment at ESPN MMA's UFC 317 Post Show, Pimblett said about their potential clash:
"We've got history, you know what I mean? You don't even need to sell that fight. It sells itself, two people genuinely dislike each other. You don't really get that. We haven't seen it since, like, Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and [Conor] McGregor, right? Two people who actually hate each other."
Speaking further, Pimblett expressed his thoughts on the fight, stating:
"I hate him. I wouldn't even want to finish him fast. I'd want to finish him with a minute left in the fight after I've elbowed him 700 times. I want to disfigure him."
Check out Paddy Pimblett's comments below (2:17):
While many have questioned whether Pimblett deserves the title shot under current circumstances, renowned MMA coach Javier Mendez recently addressed the critics, emphasizing that the commercial aspect of MMA is crucial in matchmaking.
