Arman Tsarukyan gets caught in UFC 313 crossfire; refutes Justin Gaethje accusations

Justin Gaethje lists fighters who said "no" to last-minute UFC 313 PPV co-main scrapper before Rafael Fiziev; Arman Tsarukyan denies it.

Arman Tsarukyan gets caught in UFC 313 crossfire; refutes Justin Gaethje accusations

Arman Tsarukyan says he did not say no to Justin Gaethje for UFC 313 (Source: X)

Before the light, there was darkness and doom in the MMA spectrum. Top UFC lightweight name Justin Gaethje had his opponent withdraw from their UFC 313 PPV bout. Later, Rafael Fiziev raised his hand for the March 8 co-headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gaethje has named names who refused that spot against him; one that stands out is Arman Tsarukyan.

Aussie MMA journo Benny P first broke the news that Dan Hooker was out of his strikefest against fan-fave Gaethje. Justin Gaethje, however, opted to stay on the UFC 313 card. Close friend and UFC play-by-play Daniel Cormier also said as much. Now, the UFC 155-pound human “Highlight” says brass approached numerous fighters to see if they would fight on less than two weeks’ notice. Most are said to have turned down the violent sweepstakes offer, including Tsarukyan.

Arman and Charles understandably said no. Max and Dustin understandably said no. Moicano got the call and said no. Props to Fiziev for volunteering to fly across the world and take this fight. Big risk here for me taking this rematch against and elite striker. Life’s a trip. Best live show on earth going down March 8th #UFC313

Justin Gaethje via X (@Justin_Gaethje)

Gaethje says Max Holloway, who just fought him last April and is gunning for a proper 155 hydration, said no. As did Lafayette lightweight Dustin Poirier, who’s eyeing a legacy retirement matchup. Meanwhile, Charles Oliveira has the promise from brass to get the 155-pound top-seed treatment and is awaiting a title rematch. The odd men out are Renato Miocano and Arman Tsarukyan. “Ahalkalakets,” though, denied saying no.

FS Video

I didn’t say no, I accepted immediately and asked for a 160lbs catchweight 11 days out from weigh ins, UFC said that wasn’t an option

Arman Tsarukyan replied via X (@ArmanUfc)

Arman Tsarukyan was the 155-pound top seed not long ago, before UFC 311. However, the Armenian pulled out and went back to square one. Tsarukyan does tank other names and still is #1 in the UFC lightweight listings, though. Per his account, he did raise his hand for this chance. Now, Rafael Fiziev treads on those grounds.

Rafael Fiziev steps in for rematch as Justin Gaethje gets new UFC 313 PPV lightweight opponent

Some said yes and regressed; some said no to UFC 313. In others’ defense, Justin Gaethje further said that he himself took around 8-12 weeks to prep for pre-fight camp. He started getting into shape and uploaded it in his YouTube segment, right about that much of a frame ago.

Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev run it back, with bad blood boiling before UFC 313
Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev run it back, with bad blood boiling before UFC 313 (Source: X)

The Elevation Fight Team striker said he weighs around 175 pounds out of camp, like most other lightweights. Hence, Gaethje understands why most pronounced fighters would even say no to UFC 313. Arman Tsarukyan confirmed as much under his original tweet, calling for a catchweight bout. Enter Fiziev; he has walked the lane on stats of 12-3 MMA and a modest 6-3 UFC. Here’s hoping he maxes at 156, more than a week out from weigh-ins.

Gaethje and Fiziev met and crossed paths for the first time at UFC 286 in March. The fight, which won the Fight of the Night award, ended in a majority decision win for “Highlight”. Since then, Gaethje has gone 1-1, knocking out Dustin Poirier and losing to “Blessed” at UFC 300 PPV in April. Both were for the “BMF” title fights.

Since the first showdown, “Ataman” has only fought once. He lost to Mateusz Gamrot when he tore his ACL in the middle of the fight in September 2023. Rafael Fiziev underwent surgery a short time later and has been working on a comeback ever since.

Related: 3 reasons Dana White could stop ‘Champ Champ’ trend