Ilia Topuria Trolls Arman Tsarukyan Owing to His Social Media Antics

Ahead of his maiden UFC lightweight title defense at the White House, Ilia Topuria analysed the social media streak of Arman Tsarukyan.

Ilia Topuria Trolls Arman Tsarukyan Owing to His Social Media Antics

Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria (via X)

In Short
  • Ilia Topuria criticized Arman Tsarukyan's social media presence and called him "dumb" during an appearance on 'The Ariel Helwani Show.'
  • Topuria expressed surprise at Paddy Pimblett's performance against Justin Gaethje, stating he expected better from him.
  • Topuria is set to fight Justin Gaethje on June 14, despite ongoing rivalries with both Tsarukyan and Pimblett.

UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria just appeared on ‘The Ariel Helwani Show’ after quite a while. In this appearance, the Spaniard made quite a few telling revelations. But the most notable was his take on No. 2-ranked UFC lightweight Arman Tsarukyan.

For the unversed, Topuria and Tsarukyan have been feuding since the former moved up in weight and got the vacant title against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. Since then, Tsarukyan has accused Topuria of ducking him. Whereas the champion has said he would fight anyone the UFC wants him to fight, while also retaliating against the Armenian on social media.

But now, the Spaniard has taken things to another level with his expletive-filled rant against Tsarukyan on Helwani’s show. The veteran journalist asked him whether he was impressed by his rival’s promotional abilities, with Topuria issuing the following scathing response.

I’m really impressed with how dumb he is. I don’t know, he looks like a kid. He’s a kid. His mentality. He’s dumb. Everything I saw about him on the internet is embarrassing. Who cares about him? The thing that I don’t like is when they play that they’re rich, and they show all that money. Bro, you’re not even rich. … The only things that you have is money, and you’re spending your father’s money, not even yours. You know what I mean. He’s a kid.

Ilia Topuria’s comments on Arman Tsarukyan during the Ariel Helwani Show

Clearly, ‘El Matador’ is not a fan of Arman Tsarukyan’s antics on the internet. He isn’t the only one, as even UFC President Dana White said he was “not thrilled” with the Armenian. With Tsarukyan headbutting Dan Hooker before their UFC Qatar fight, then beating up Giorgio Poullas at RAF 06, it’s not hard to see why.

That said, Tsarukyan himself believes that the UFC is protecting its interests by making Topuria a superstar. However, Tsarukyan, who seems to invite controversy, has made it quite easy for Ilia Topuria to call him out in the manner he has. From confronting influencers to booking private planes after getting kicked off a commercial flight, he is always knee-deep in controversy.

Therefore, Ilia Topuria going after his rival in such a vicious manner is no surprise. But Tsarukyan wasn’t the only fighter Ilia addressed. ‘El Matador’ also went after recent interim title challenger, Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett.

Ilia Topuria says he was surprised by Paddy Pimblett’s skills

Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett would have been one for the ages. Their rivalry has been brewing for over 5 years at this point. With plenty of name-calling and even a violent altercation backstage at the UFC London event back in 2022, there is no love lost between them. So when Pimblett fought for an interim title in Topuria’s absence, many hoped he would win so the fight between them would materialize.

Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria (via MMA Mania)

Alas, that was not to be as Justin Gaethje played spoiler to those plans by beating the Scouser at UFC 324. But it seems no one was more surprised by this than Topuria.

I was a little surprised. Yeah, I was a little surprised at how bad Paddy really is… I was expecting him to win. I was expecting him to take Justin down, to do a different fight. To really fight… Like, he really proved that he’s a little sausage

Ilia Topuria on Paddy Pimblett’s performance against Justin Gaethje

‘El Matador’ then revealed that he doesn’t think Pimblett can make it back into the title picture again. He believes the Scouser needs to be “reborn” to even stand a chance at gaining the skills to become a top-drawer lightweight. The Spaniard believes Pimblett is not even on the horizon as a title challenger, and it is difficult to argue with his assessment.

Ultimately, Topuria is fighting neither Tsarukyan nor Pimblett. He will take on ‘The Highlight’ at the White House at the White House. Despite many believing that he is not a deserving challenger, Topuria has stressed multiple times that Gaethje’s unorthodox style makes him a difficult fight for anyone. Nonetheless, we will find out who is right only when June 14 rolls around.

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