Paddy Pimblett blasts Arman Tsarukyan's win streak
Paddy Pimblett is no fan of Arman Tsarukyan and has just launched a wave of criticism aimed at his fellow lightweight's divisional run.
Paddy Pimblett has no shortage of enemies in the UFC lightweight division. It comes naturally to him as a brash trash-talker, but among the fighters 'The Baddy' dislikes the most is Arman Tsarukyan. The Scouser recently shared his thoughts on the latter, and none of them were kind.
Paddy Pimblett attacks Arman Tsarukyan's activity
Paddy Pimblett joined all-time MMA great and ex-UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson for an exclusive interview where he covered numerous topics, ranging from his combat sports future to his thoughts on other fighters. Though when it came to Arman Tsarukyan, who is currently ranked #1 in the UFC lightweight division, 'The Baddy' pulled no punches as he expressed the root of his issues with him, including a belief that Tsarukyan does not deserve the next lightweight title shot (41:27):
"Arman Tsarukyan is a posh boy helmet. I'm not a big fan of his at all. I think he's a f*cking idiot. He's had everything handed to him on a plate his whole life, so he thinks the UFC should do the same to him. I don't even think he deserves the next title shot, lad. He's beaten Dan Hooker in the past three years."
There's a point to some of Pimblett's grievances with Tsarukyan. While he erroneously claimed that Tsarukyan has only beaten Dan Hooker in the last three years, he did defeat Charles Oliveira via split-decision at UFC 300 back in 2024. Nevertheless, Tsarukyan has been inactive, with no fight booked for 2026. He has, instead, kept himself busy by wrestling at the RAF. A lightweight title fight with newly-minted 155-pound champion Justin Gaethje could be next, so long as the UFC doesn't book a rematch between Gaethje and Oliveira, the latter of whom is on a two-fight win streak and eager to face Gaethje again, who he beat via first-round submission at UFC 274.
Pimblett himself is also gunning for a rematch with Gaethje, to whom he lost via unanimous decision at UFC 324 for the interim lightweight title. However, in order to potentially secure a title fight with Gaethje, he must first get past Benoît Saint Denis in the co-main event of UFC 329.
