He Will Have to Work Hard: UFC President on Arman Tsarukyan

The President of UFC, Dana White, responded to questions regarding the prospects of Arman Tsarukyan, the number one contender in the lightweight division representing Armenia.

Tsarukyan is at the top of the division's ranking after defeating Dan Hooker at an event in Qatar. In January 2025, he had the opportunity to fight Islam Makhachev for the championship belt but declined the match due to an injury sustained the day prior.

“He had the opportunity, and everyone saw how that ended. Now he will have to work hard to earn the right to fight for the belt again. It doesn’t matter to me what number he is in the rankings. We work extremely hard on event preparations so that such things do not happen. We often discuss all the absurdities we have seen over the past 20 years in the office. But what happened with Tsarukyan… That’s just not how you do things,” White stated at a press conference.

Earlier, it was announced that at the beginning of 2026, a fight for the interim title will be held between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett, although Arman Tsarukyan remains the main contender in the 70 kg weight category representing Armenia.