After initially expressing strong dismissal about a fight with Dustin Poirier, Arman Tsarukyan is now reconsidering the bout. For the 27-year-old, the American is not the fastest route to the title shot, but he’ll not say no if the UFC puts him in the cage with Poirier.
Tsarukyan made a mark in his last fight after defeating Beneil Dariush via KO within the first 64 seconds of their fight at UFC on ESPN 52. After this, the young fighter made a fast ascent in the rankings as the current No. 4 fighter. For Tsarukyan, the objective is to get the title shot soon to challenge division champ Islam Makhachev. But to do that, the Armenian-Russian knows that he must first fight a name that will bring him there.
Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje are the sure bets for that position, but the former is expected to challenge the champ in Saudi Arabia in March. Meanwhile, making Gaethje agree to a fight could be impossible as the fighter is now awaiting his title shot, not to mention that Makhachev himself is interested in fighting him over Oliveira. This leaves Tsarukyan the No. 3 Poirier.
However, “Ahalkalakets” doesn’t think “The Diamond” is the best fight if he wants to get to the title shot as fast as possible. As he explained in December, Poirier’s loss to Gaethje in July makes him unqualified for his plans.
The situation gives Tsarukyan limited options, pushing him to reconsider Poirier for his next fight. According to the fighter, while the 34-year-old is not his best choice, he’ll face him if the promotion giant pushes him.
“Yes, I would, but to be honest, I don’t want to fight with him,” Tsarukyan told The MMA Hour. “He lost last fight. It doesn’t make sense to fight with him. If I beat him, people say, ‘Oh, he just lost last fight. How do you want to fight for the title?’ I need someone who definitely after that fight I’m going to get title fight. It’s like, Gaethje or Oliveira. So if Oliveira thinks he’s No. 1 contender and he’s got a fight, let’s fight and let’s figure out who is No. 1. If he wins, he can go to the title. If I win, I’ll go.
“[Poirier] is a legend. I respect him. He’s tough and he won interim title. Big deal. He beat a lot of good people and he’s very good fighter. Especially to watch his fights is always exciting. I’m just telling, it doesn’t make sense to fight him because if I win, people are going to say he just lost to Gaethje. But if I beat Oliveira or Gaethje I’m like, 99.9 percent to fight for the title.”
