Arman Tsarukyan Doesn’t Think Justin Gaethje Deserves Next Lightweight Title Shot

Arman Tsarukyan believes it’ll be unfair for Justin Gaethje to get the next lightweight title shot.

Gaethje earned a unanimous decision win in a rematch against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 last weekend, going 2-0 against the Kazakh. “The Highlight” is now asking for a title shot after rebounding from a knockout loss against Max Holloway to make it 3-1 in his last four.

However, Tsarukyan believes Gaethje must pass one more test to deserve a title shot. According to “Ahalkalakets,” Gaethje has to fight either him or Charles Oliveira before he can challenge Islam Makhachev.

“I wanna fight someone from Top 5, Gaethje or Oliveira,” Tsarukyan told The Schmo. “Gaethje wants to fight for the title, it makes sense to fight with me. Because nobody gonna give him title fight. It’s not gonna be fair that he’s gonna get title fight. So he gotta beat me or Oliveira to get the title fight… So I think they’re gonna give me Oliveira, or Gaethje or title fight.”

Tsarukyan lost a hard-fought unanimous decision against Makhachev in his UFC debut in 2019. The 28-year old has since racked up nine wins in 10 outings, only dropping a decision against Mateusz Gamrot. Tsarukyan earned himself a title shot in a rematch against Makhachev at UFC 311 this past January. However, Tsarukyan was forced out with an injury a day before the fight and replaced by Renato Carneiro, who suffered a first-round submission loss against Makhachev. UFC CEO Dana White later said that Tsarukyan was not getting the next lightweight title shot.