Justin Gaethje Brings Up ‘Weight Miss’ Conspiracy Theory About Arman Tsarukyan Ahead of UFC 331

UFC lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje, didn't hold back his thoughts on contender Arman Tsarukyan.

Justin Gaethje Brings Up ‘Weight Miss’ Conspiracy Theory About Arman Tsarukyan Ahead of UFC 331

Justin Gaethje talks about Arman Tsarukyan (Image via MMA Fighting)

Arman Tsarukyan is not fighting for the lightweight title because of all the controversies surrounding him. His UFC 311 withdrawal forever put him in the bad books of Dana White. UFC lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje, recently brought up that incident before the Armenian fights at UFC 331.

At that time, Tsarukyan was gearing up to face Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. The day before the weigh-ins, Tsarukyan pulled out by citing a back injury. The UFC had to strategize and bring in Renato Moicano to face Makhachev at UFC 311 on short-notice.

Tsarukyan filmed contents with Nina Drama around the same time. Some fans thought that a routine back exercise caused the injury. However, there were others who felt that the injury excuse was a cover to hide the potential weight miss.

During a conversation with Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson, Gaethje brought up the weight miss conspiracy surrounding Tsarukyan once again.

I hope Arman gets hit hard. It would be fun to see… He’s been doing so much to not be able to fight for the belt. He was gonna fight Islam Makhachev for the belt and he dropped out the night before. The truth is he wasn’t gonna make weight so he dropped out.

Justin Gaethje told Demetrious Johnson

Following his withdrawal, Tsarukyan released a statement to cite his injury as a reason. However, Dana White’s attitude towards the Armenian contender is where the conspiracy theory took shape.

White continuously snubbed Tsarukyan from all the lightweight title fights till now. At one point, the UFC CEO stated that Tsarukyan knew why the promotion snubbed him.

Retired UFC fighters, Michael Bisping and Paul Felder, added that it was more than just an injury as Dana White’s attitude towards Tsarukyan didn’t make sense.

MMA fans felt that the promotion and Tsarukyan kept the actual truth from the public. This is where the weight miss conspiracy came to life. Around the same time, Tsarukyan posted videos of him eating different cuisines. All of these instances kept adding to the conspiracy theory.

Right now, Tsarukyan is a major threat for the champion, Justin Gaethje. Previously, the Armenian contender was against Gaethje getting a shot at the title before him. Hence, the duo doesn’t like each other all that much.

Gaethje has been a thorn in Tsarukyan’s side as the Armenian contender wants to fight for the title. After winning the title at UFC Freedom 250, ‘The Highlight’ chose to rest rather than defend the title against Tsarukyan. With that, they have a shaky relationship with each other.

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Justin Gaethje believes Arman Tsarukyan presents the first tough challenge of Mauricio Ruffy’s career

Mauricio Ruffy has shown excellent striking skills that propelled him to the top 10 of the UFC lightweight division. At UFC 331, he faces Arman Tsarukyan in the co-main event bout. A victory over the Armenian contender puts him in the title picture.

Justin Gaethje talks about Arman Tsarukyan vs Mauricio Ruffy
Justin Gaethje talks about Arman Tsarukyan vs Mauricio Ruffy (Image via MMA Fighting/UFC.com)

UFC lightweight champion recently broke down that matchup in his conversation with Demetrious Johnson. Gaethje admitted that Ruffy hadn’t faced top competition yet, citing his wins over King Green and Michael Chandler as not top level due to the age of the opponents.

At the same time, Ruffy finished Rafael Fiziev, an opponent Gaethje couldn’t finish in two fights. With that, Gaethje admitted that Tsarukyan will be the first ultimate test of Ruffy’s career.

With my eyes, it says that he (Ruffy) is everything that a contender is and has all the skills to pay the bills that he needs. But, this will be his first ultimate test in the UFC versus a world class fighter. I think Arman is world class.

Justin Gaethje told Demetrious Johnson

‘The Highlight’ mentioned on the podcast that the Armenian contender would go for the takedowns against Ruffy, making it a complicated stylistic matchup.

UFC 331 will answer if Ruffy can take the next step in his career. Meanwhile, a victory for Tsarukyan may set up a title fight against Gaethje in the future.

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