“I thought he looked pretty sh*t”: Paddy Pimblett gives blunt assessment of Arman Tsarukyan’s UFC 331 performance

Arman Tsarukyan stunned the MMA world with his impressive performance against Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331. He has probably cemented himself next for the lightweight title fight against reigning champion Justin Gaethje. 

However, his rival Paddy Pimblett doesn't seem impressed by Tsarukyan's performance and stressed that he has seen holes in the Armenian fighting style. 

Paddy Pimblett questions Arman Tsarukyan’s wrestling

Tsarukyan and Ruffy squared off in the co-main event of UFC 331 in a five-round fight. However, the Armenian star needed just one round to secure the victory. The Brazilian star showed impressive takedown defense, and the Armenian could secure a takedown. 

So, Tsarukyan, with his relentless pressure, trapped Ruffy against the fence and, in the clinch, landed a vicious left elbow, followed by a right elbow that left the Brazilian crashing on the canvas. The Armenian star made a statement with a brutal KO victory in the first round, proving he deserved the title shot. This spectacular victory earned him a performance-of-the-night bonus. 

However, Pimblett does seem to be impressed and has found holes in Tsarukyan’s game plan. In his recent YouTube video, the British lightweight praised the knockout but argued that ‘Batman’ showed weaknesses before finding the fight-ending elbow.

“That was a nasty elbow, lad. Gotta give him his due, lad, as. much as I like, and that was a naughty elbow. I thought he looked pretty shit up until the point of the elbow,” Pimblett said. “left eye messed up already. Wish he never landed that, just to see how the second and third would've went.I think that showed holes in his game.”

Pimblett then questioned one of the biggest strengths of Tsarukyan's game: his wrestling. ‘The Baddy’ feels the fight provided evidence that Tsarukyan may not be as dominant in that area as some suggest.

“His wrestling's not as good as he thinks it is. I would've liked to see how that fight went on,  cos he couldn't get Ruffy down, and over the past couple of years Ruffy hasn't shown he's got great takedown defense. Everyone goes on, like, Arman's got the best wrestling in the UFC, and he showed there that he hasn't,” Pimblett continued.

The British fighter acknowledged the quality of the finish while explaining that the knockout caught him off guard.

“ wasn't expecting him to knock him out at all, even if it was in the clinch with a short elbow,” Pimbeltt added. 

Check out Paddy Pimblett’s comments below: 

The verbal rivalry between Pimblett and Tsarukyan has been ongoing for a long time, with their feud evolving into one of the most intense personal rivalries in the UFC’s lightweight division. Despite their animosity, ‘Batman’ seemed to impress the Brit with his knockout. 

What’s next for Arman Tsarukyan and Paddy Pimblett

With the KO victory, Tsarukyan extended his win streak to six and probably earned himself the title shot against Justin Gaethje. 

As for Paddy, in his most recent UFC outing, he submitted Benoit Saint Denis in less than a minute at UFC 329. For his next challenge, Ilia Topuria’s name has been circulating online.