Henry Cejudo backs potential Justin Gaethje vs. Arman Tsarukyan UFC title fight as one of the biggest ever
"Triple C" has rallied for Arman Tsarukyan to get his long-awaited UFC lightweight title shot against recently-crowned champion Justin Gaethje.
Arman Tsarukyan has lately received a significant amount of support for his potential shot at the UFC lightweight title.
As of this time, ex-BMF champion and two-time interim UFC lightweight titlist Justin Gaethje is the reigning UFC lightweight champ.
Speaking of which, former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo has affirmed that Tsarukyan deserves to be the first to fight newly-crowned lightweight kingpin Gaethje for the title.
Arman Tsarukyan missed out on his maiden UFC lightweight title shot against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311
Back in January 2025, then-UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev was booked to defend his title against Arman Tsarukyan in the headlining match of UFC 311.
It was to be their rematch, with Makhachev beating him via unanimous decision in their first encounter in 2019. However, Tsarukyan withdrew from the event a day prior owing to a back injury.
It precipitated a notable card reshuffling. Renato Moicano, who was booked to fight Beneil Dariush in a non-title lightweight matchup at UFC 311, was roped in to replace Tsarukyan. Also, Dariush had to step away from the card altogether.
Makhachev ended up defending his lightweight title by dominantly beating Moicano via first-round submission in the main event of UFC 311. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan received considerable criticism for his last-minute withdrawal.
Henry Cejudo calls for Arman Tsarukyan to be given a UFC lightweight title shot against Justin Gaethje
Arman Tsarukyan's most recent octagon appearance witnessed him submit Dan Hooker last November. However, the Armenian MMA star seemed to hurt Hooker with a headbutt during their faceoffs at the pre-fight ceremonial weigh-ins.
Well, with then-UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria on a hiatus from MMA competition due to personal reasons in late 2025, the UFC notably booked an interim UFC lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett to headline UFC 324 on January 24, 2026.
UFC president and CEO Dana White subsequently appeared on the Spinnin Backfist MMA Show in January of this year. When asked about whether the Hooker headbutt incident played a role in the UFC not booking Tsarukyan in the interim title showdown, White implied that it did.
In a recent edition of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, hosted by Henry Cejudo and ex-UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, the duo addressed Arman Tsarukyan's long wait for his title shot.
Usman highlighted that Tsarukyan has been "trolling" the UFC in a sense, citing that he may have mishandled the opportunity to be the backup/replacement fighter for the recent lightweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250.
Nevertheless, Cejudo opined that Tsarukyan's pullout from the title fight at UFC 311 ought to be forgiven. Making an allusion to how Tsarukyan has built a notable presence for himself with his pursuits as a social media influencer, wrestling in the RAF, and more; Cejudo stated:
"I feel like justice would need to be served, and you do gotta kind of forgive him (Arman Tsarukyan) for what happened in California."
He added, "It is what it is, bro. Sh** happens. I mean, I think Arman fighting Justin Gaethje would be one of the biggest fights. It would be the biggest fight in lightweight history. It really would."
Likening a possible Gaethje-Tsarukyan clash to the iconic lightweight title fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov from 2018, Cejudo said, "Because Arman Tsarukyan has become one of -- okay, next to McGregor-Khabib, next to McGregor-Khabib."
Usman chimed in and implied that the recent Topuria vs. Gaethje matchup was also touted as one of the biggest clashes in the 155-pound division's history.
Cejudo seemed to concur. However, he indicated that the manner in which Tsarukyan has handled everything as of late -- and given how Ilia Topuria suffered a gruesome defeat against Justin Gaethje in his latest fight -- the fans are likely waiting for a new star like Tsarukyan to replace Topuria.
"Triple C" explained, "Yeah. But the simple fact that -- the way that Arman has been treating everything, and the fact that Ilia got lost and got beat up; I think people wanna see that next contender come in."
Moreover, Cejudo and Usman lightheartedly hinted that the former may have been a tad hyperbolic in labeling a possible Gaethje vs. Tsarukyan clash as the biggest in the UFC lightweight division's history.
They appeared to agree, however, that it'd surely be a top-ten lightweight matchup in terms of historical significance.
Watch Henry Cejudo push for Arman Tsarukyan's possible clash against Justin Gaethje below (*comments at the 1:07:20-minute mark of the video):
