Ilia Topuria is not worried about the possibility of UFC White House card main event backup fighter Arman Tsarukyan stepping in on June 14th.
Topuria is set to put his lightweight title on the line against interim belt holder Justin Gaethje at the White House for UFC Freedom 250’s main event. But in the back of the minds of many in the MMA community, they are questioning what would happen if the No. 3 ranked Tsarukyan finally got his chance at fighting for championship gold.
Tsarukyan was scheduled for his shot at the title back in January 2025 versus Islam Makhachev, but he was forced out of the fight last minute because of a neck injury. Since then, he has had his eye on the next opportunity for that belt.
In a recent interview, Topuria set the stage for his plan for Tsarukyan if something causes Gaethje to fall out of the match, and he did not hold back in his criticism of the Armenian’s octagon abilities.
“The fight with Arman is gonna be a good fight. The thing is, they used to take a lot of confidence because they fight with fighters that… his last fight was against Dan Hooker. He has, I don’t know, 20 losses in his professional career.
It’s like, bro, you never ever, forget about it, never ever in your entire life you’ve faced someone like me. It’s like, I’m going to embarrass you in front of everyone. Because with him, he thinks that he’s tough, he thinks that his wrestling is I don’t know what, like he feels that he’s an Olympic champion.
Anyways, if he’s the best in the world in wrestling? When it comes to the octagon, bro, I’m the king. In there, I’m the king.”
(h/t MMA Sucka)