Arman Tsarukyan made it clear that he is laser-focused on snatching the title as fast as possible. That includes challenging fellow fighters who will give him the ticket to the title shot. And for “Ahalkalakets,” that no longer includes Dustin Poirier, who lost to Justin Gaethje in July.
Tsarukyan made a mark in his last fight against Beneil Dariush last weekend in Austin, Texas. In the bout, the Armenian-Russian fighter knocked out the veteran quickly with a right hand at the 1:04 mark of Round 1. His victory received praise from the MMA community, allowing him to move upward in rank. Now, at the fourth rank, Tsarukyan just got closer to having the title shot. Yet, the Georgian-born mixed martial artist knows it won’t be instant and he still has to fight those blocking his way.
In the past, Tsarukyan expressed his intention to fight those at the top. Later, however, Tsarukyan felt exasperated after stressing that three of the division’s top fighters at that time (Gaethje, Michael Chandler, and Poirier) only wanted to “fight each other and no one else,” especially those on the lower rank.
Now in the top five and after a remarkable win recently, Tsarukyan has found himself credible in challenging the current top 3 fighters: Charles Oliveira, Gaethje, and Poirier. Tsarukyan thinks the first two are worthy opponents for him, but he excludes Poirier. According to Tsarukyan, the defeat of “The Diamond” received from Gaethje will explain his preference.
“Gaethje, Poirier, they try to find someone who is a striker from the top five. They never fight with someone from top 10 or top 15, you know?” Tsarukyan told The MMA Hour in an interview. “To be honest, I don’t wanna fight with him (Poirier), because he lost last fight. It doesn’t make sense to fight him. If I beat him, people just say, ‘Oh, he just lost last fight.’
“I wanna fight for the title. I need someone who definitely after that fight, I’m gonna get the title fight. It’s like, Gaethje or Oliveira,” Tsarukyan continued. “If Oliveira thinks he is number one contender and he’s got the fight, let’s fight and let’s figure out who is number one.”
Despite this, Tsarukyan made it clear that the No. 3-ranked fighter is “a legend” that he respects due to his past achievements and victories, including his interim bout win. Yet, in the end, the 27-year-old wants to focus on his plans to snatch the title as quickly as possible. As such, the young fighter believes fighting Poirier, who encountered a defeat recently, “just doesn’t make sense.”
