Dana White Lauds Arman Tsarukyan's Return to the Title Scenario After UFC 331

Arman Tsarukyan convinced the UFC community once more that he is one of the most deserving contenders for a shot at the UFC lightweight title. Even the UFC CEO, Dana White, couldn't refrain from appreciating the Armenian lightweight's return to the title picture, comparing his current form to his previous mess-up.

Dana White Couldn't Have Hoped for a Better Comeback From Arman Tsarukyan

Tsarukyan put his own title contention into question as he had to pull out of his lightweight title encounter against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 due to a back injury, to be replaced by Renato Moicano at the eleventh hour. 'Batman' proved his worth with a second-round submission victory over Dan Hooker in November 2025, but White still looked reluctant to provide him with another title shot.

Nevertheless, Tsarukyan made his case even stronger with a first-round TKO victory over Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331. And this time, White sounded much more positive about Tsarukyan being back in the lightweight title contention picture.

The UFC CEO appeared at the post-event press conference, where he lauded the way Tsarukyan was presenting his case for a shot at the lightweight gold. He said, "I've been vocal about being crazy about some of the stuff that he has done. When you fu*k up, and then you come back, and you do everything the right way, I mean, you couldn't have had a better comeback after the things that he'd done that I wasn't thrilled about."

Dana White's reaction to Arman Tsarukyan's win:

"When you f*ck up, then you come back and you do everything the right way. I mean you couldn't have had a better comeback after the things that he'd done." #UFC331 pic.twitter.com/SA1m4baEhk

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 20, 2026

White also admitted that he thought Tsarukyan would find it hard to get the better of Ruffy. Then came the vicious elbow from the Armenian that ended the game and proved White's prediction completely wrong. But despite appreciating Tsarukyan's performance wholeheartedly, White refrained from confirming whether 'Batman' would receive the next shot at the lightweight gold.

On the other hand, Tsarukyan is looking extremely confident about being the next in line for the title shot. During his appearance at the UFC 331 post-show, the Armenian lightweight sent a clear message to the reigning champion, Justin Gaethje, about being his next opponent. Still, nothing can be documented till White and Co. make it official.

It remains to be seen if the stars align in Tsarukyan's desired way, leading to his much-awaited lightweight title shot.