After Seeing “Worst” UFC Featherweight Take Him Down, Arman Tsarukyan Ready to Easily Out-Wrestle Ilia Topuria

Arman Tsarukyan accuses Ilia Topuria of ‘avoiding’ hardest skills test, thinks wrestling hole will work to his advantage in PPV title fight.

After Seeing “Worst” UFC Featherweight Take Him Down, Arman Tsarukyan Ready to Easily Out-Wrestle Ilia Topuria

Arman Tsarukyan points out Bryce Mitchell’s moments of success against Ilia Topuria (Source: X)

Arman Tsarukyan insists he’d have little trouble beating Ilia Topuria on the ground, but his opponent isn’t buying it. Tsarukyan is among those contending and trying to be Topuria’s first PPV title defense following last Saturday’s UFC 317 pay-per-view in Las Vegas.

During the June 28 PPV headliner, Ilia Topuria punctuated a first-round KO of submission specialist Charles Oliveira and completed his ascent to two-weight championship glory. Not that long ago, Arman Tsarukyan himself defeated “Do Bronx” to then become a top contender for UFC lightweight gold.

Team ATT’s “Ahalkalakets” has mapped out how Topuria would be easy money for him. To that end, he incited a past instance of Topuria’s wrestling on the stand where the opponent excelled and had some success.

I watched his first fight and he was wrestling a little bit and he got tired so much. And he’s never fought with wrestlers like me, who knows like freestyle wrestling…Bryce Mitchell, he is the worst fighter in the 145 …He took him [Topuria] down and held him, …Even he took him down and he couldn’t escape for like one minute…I can tell he is not high-level.

Arman Tsarukyan on Daniel Cormier’s Official YT Channel (@DC_MMA)

Club Climent once provided that “El Matador” was untested in his grappling, thus making for an Islam Makhachev-shaped super fight and skill test. Topuria also found his pocket of success against Oliveira’s ankle pick and TDs. With his diverse skill set, many anticipate that the new #1 pound-for-pound fighter Ilia Topuria will continue to dominate for the foreseeable future.

However, Tsarukyan identifies a significant vulnerability that he believes can be exploited, and it all comes down to his fight with Bryce Mitchell. Despite the claims from Tsarukyan, Mitchell struggled to control Topuria and went 1/9 in takedown attempts. Moreover, the bout ended with ‘Thug Nasty’ getting submitted by ‘El Matador’ with ease.

Moreover, the Georgian-Spanish fighter did recently state that UFC 282 was where the hydration problems really started to kick in, and he decided to cut better at the 155-pound mark. In another post, the Armenian star accused Topuria of fleeing from the greatest threat to his recently begun title reign. As of now, Tsarukyan’s next bout is unlikely to be against the new lightweight champion.

Arman Tsarukyan reveals the two fights the UFC offered him following his withdrawal from UFC 311

Some fans and even analysts believe that the now No. 2-ranked contender, Arman Tsarukyan, deserves a top shot at lightweight gold. Weighing in at Las Vegas as the PPV backup fighter could have earned the Armenian that shot against Ilia Topuria.

Arman Tsarukyan reveals why two fights didn't happen after UFC 311 PPV pullout
Arman Tsarukyan reveals why two fights didn’t happen after UFC 311 PPV pullout (Source: X)

However, UFC CEO Dana White recently said his second-string role won’t mean much while climbing up the contention ladder. This is because, per the UFC boss, the then-1 contender in the lightweight division withdrew from his PPV title spot against Makhachev and now must prove himself.

During a recent conversation on “The Ariel Helwani Show“, Arman Tsarukyan was questioned if he thought that his choice to pull out of UFC 311 PPV weigh-ins made the UFC execs upset with him. He disagreed with this idea. The Armenian lightweight said that if the UFC were upset by his decision, they wouldn’t have offered him several important fights since then.

It was 9 or 8 days before and I was 186 or 187. …I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll fight. I’ll save the fight…but I need a catchweight.’ Gaethje didn’t want to fight me. He picked Fiziev; [For Gamrot] We are from one gym and we train on the same mats. That’s why I said can you give me someone different because I don’t need that drama again. It’s so difficult to have your training camp when you’re fighting with a guy from the same gym.

Arman Tsarukyan on “The Ariel Helwani Show” for ‘Uncrowned’ Combat

A rematch with Mateusz Gamrot for the main event of the Octagon’s return to Abu Dhabi on July 26 was also offered to Tsarukyan. It would have been a rematch as Gamrot won the first fight via split decision. Soon after, the UFC booked Robert Whittaker vs. Reinier de Ridder as the headliner, further casting doubts on Tsarukyan’s return.

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