Should Arman Tsarukyan take care of business in the main event of UFC Qatar, he’ll be ready to face Ilia Topuria as soon as possible.
Tsarukyan faces Dan Hooker in the five-round headliner of Saturday’s Fight Night event at Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena in Doha. The UFC is about to shift over to Paramount in January, and rumor and innuendo has suggested that Ilia Topuria could defend his lightweight title for the first time on that card. However, the UFC has yet to announce anything in regards to that event, or anything for 2026 at this point.
With everything up in the air, Tsarukyan would be willing to make a quick turnaround to face Topuria in January if he’s victorious on Saturday.
“No, I don’t want to wait,” Tsarukyan told MMA Fighting. “If I perform very well [against Hooker] and the UFC said, ‘Can you fight in January?’ I’ll take that fight right away.”
Tsarukyan makes his first appearance since defeating Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in April 2024. The 29-year-old was scheduled to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at January’s UFC 311 event, but Tsarukyan was scratched from the bout one day before the event due to a back injury.
With his first fight in 17 months just days away, Tsarukyan knows that this is more than just a normal matchup as he’s putting a lot on the line against Hooker, a rival that his won his past three bouts.
“It means everything for me,” Tsarukyan said. “If I lose, I’ll lose everything. If I win, I win everything as well. So this is like a title fight for me. It’s five rounds, main event, and this fight, I must win and I get my title fight. It’s an important fight for me, and that’s why I’m focused. I’m very focused on this fight.”
The lightweight division is now championed by Topuria who captured the title vacated by Islam Makhachev at UFC 317 in June. Topuria knocked out Oliveira in the first round to become the UFC’s 10th two-division world champion.
As far as who could stand across from Topuria in his first title defense, the two names being thrown out the most are former interim champ Justin Gaethje, and rising lightweight star Paddy Pimblett, who most recently dominated and finished Michael Chandler at UFC 314 in April.
While Pimblett appears to be the favorite for the championship bout, Tsarukyan says it could happen — although Tsarukyan feels Pimblett hasn’t done enough to earn it — but it certainly won’t be Gaethje getting the shot.
“I mean, he doesn’t deserve to fight for the title,” Tsarukyan explained. “He’s got to beat someone from top-five, and like a top fighter. Not a guy who has three or four [fight losing streak]. …
“UFC wants Paddy for sure, and they’re going to see how it plays plays out this Saturday, and then they’re going to figure out who is fighting.
“But it’s 100 percent not Gaethje. It’s Paddy or me.”
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