RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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In a game of small distinctions, Mateusz Gamrot — who fights this weekend against Quillan Salkilld at the UFC Apex — has a pretty good one in that he beat Arman Tsarukyan back in 2022. This is an excellent feat by industry standards. In the last six years, 10 other men have tried do just that and 10 men have failed. Most recently, Dan Hooker came up woefully short in his attempt. Tsarukyan submitted Hooker in the second round of their fight last November and made it look relatively easy in doing so.
With five straight wins, Tsarukyan is good enough for other fighters to measure their own standards of greatness, which is its own small distinction.
Yet, despite Dana White pinky swearing that Tsarukyan would be next for a title shot if he beat Hooker in Qatar, here we are over eight months later and … guess what?
He still hasn’t fought for the title. And it doesn’t appear he will anytime soon.
On Wednesday, the UFC announced that Tsarukyan will face Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 in September, in a five-round non-title fight, meaning it’s exceedingly unlikely he’ll fight for the belt in 2026. Though it’s a fine fight — in fact it’s crazy good, far more intriguing than a rematch with Charles Oliveira, even if it were for the BMF — it can’t help but feel like Arman is forever on the outside looking in. He has been in Dana’s doghouse since he backed out of his title chance at the eleventh hour of UFC 311 with an injury, and he didn’t do himself any favors by headbutting Hooker during the face-offs in Qatar.
Arman Tsarukyan speaks after a submission victory against Dan Hooker in a lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at ABHA Arena on Nov. 22, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Jeff Bottari via Getty Images
That particular tantrum called back to mind the time he punched a fan on his walkout at UFC 300 for his fight with Oliveira. Loose cannons have a way of peeving Dana, though not all loose cannons. When Conor McGregor tried to lob a dolly through a bus window in Brooklyn it went into the B-roll for his fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Arman, by those standards, is relatively tame.
Of course, I realize there are circumstances in play for this new-next No. 1 contender fight with Ruffy.
Justin Gaethje, the guy the UFC allowed to cut the line in front of Arman to fight Paddy Pimblett for the interim lightweight title to kick off the Paramount+ era in January, is having what degenerate gamblers call a “heater.” That victory over Pimblett aged extremely well given that Paddy turned Benoit Saint-Denis into some origami at UFC 329 last month. And now that Gaethje has toppled the great Ilia Topuria to unify the 155-title — right after skimming the Declaration of Independence at UFC Freedom 250 – he’s made the most of things by turning his entitlements into titles.
That means that Gaethje has become the bane of Tsarukyan’s existence.
Not only did he cut the line, but he’s also hijacked the belt as he ponders whether or not to ride off into the sunset. The earliest Gaethje will return is in early 2027, and even then he’s said to be seeking “big fights,” which — if you read between the lines — feels very much like a subtweet to exclude a divisional stepchild like Tsarukyan from the running.
That’s the thing about all of this, as another year goes by without Arman fighting for the title. Gaethje took Tsarukyan’s shot and went on an impossibly cinematic run in his twilight, which he capped off by beating one of the pound-for-pound best in Topuria. Gaethje took the UFC’s gift and used it to launch himself as the Fighter of the Year.
In 2026, it’s Gaethje’s world, and Arman is just living in it. That’s the subtext ahead of UFC 331, when Tsarukyan will try not to slip.
Not that he’s necessarily dwelling on it.
Tsarukyan, who has quadrupled his appeal in the intervening months by wrestling in RAF and getting kicked off airplanes, has turned his impulses into a daily soap. The brawl he had with Georgio Puellas at RAF06 did bigger numbers than his best UFC fight, and when he tackled Urijah Faber off the platform at RAF08 he did unparalleled clickage. He has raised his profile despite the snubs, which is one of the reasons you’d think the UFC would want him fighting for a title.
If Dana White loves PowerSlap because it blows up on socials, he should love himself some Arman Tsarukyan. They both commandeer a scrolling man’s dopamine.
Yet there’s something about Tsarukyan that the UFC refuses to get behind. Maybe it’s because of his silver spoon, or that he doesn’t play by the rules; that he feels entitled, or that he can’t be trusted, that he’s smug; indifferent, insubordinate, pampered, and unruly; that he looks like he’d enjoy a good aspic and some figgy pudding.
Who knows, but in the fight game, with a little effort, most of those offenses can be converted into plusses. Three of his last four victories have come via finishes, meaning he’s not a boring fighter. He’s just a little unhinged.
That, too, is marketable.
With Topuria out there wanting a rematch with Gaethje, it’s a tightrope Tsarukyan will be made to walk against Ruffy, a Brazilian powerhouse who has some of the deadliest hands in the division. Ruffy is just the kind of fighter who sees a man being treated unjustly and knocks his mandible into the mezzanine. Ruffy isn’t somebody to stay busy with; he’s a minefield. To kill off a fellow contender like Ruffy is to leave no doubt.
And if Tsarukyan does just that, you can add to the narrative that despite the UFC’s best efforts, he wouldn’t be denied.
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