Arman Tsarukyan may have just booked his ticket to a lightweight title fight against Justin Gaethje. The Armenian delivered a brutal knockout win over Mauricio Ruffy in the UFC 331 co-main event, and the victory was especially important considering Tsarukyan had been on Dana White’s hit list since pulling out of UFC 311 in January 2025.
However, even the UFC CEO was impressed by Tsarukyan’s performance and admitted that the Armenian had completely flipped the script when it came to his title chances. Paddy Pimblett was also clearly thrilled for a moment when he watched Tsarukyan land the elbow that ended the fight on Saturday night.
But that praise did not last long. Despite Tsarukyan extending his winning streak to six fights and sitting at the top of the lightweight rankings, Pimblett believes the Armenian looked very beatable overall. Before getting into the trash talk, though, the Liverpudlian gave Tsarukyan his due for the nasty finish.
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During a recent video on his YouTube channel, Pimblett said, “That was lovely. That was lovely, Arman. That was a nasty elbow, lad. Gotta give him his due. As much as I don’t like him, that was a naughty elbow.”
That quickly changed as Pimblett went back to his signature trash talk. He added, “I thought he looked pretty shit up until the point of the elbow. His eye’s messed up already. I wish he never landed that, just to see how the second and third would have went. That’s just where he was just thinking of wrestling, thinking of wrestling, but when he separated with like 15 seconds to go, Ruffy should have tried to put it on him. Ruffy stayed against the fence.”
Pimblett was referring to Tsarukyan’s left eye swelling after he absorbed a clean right hand from Ruffy. The Liverpudlian also wanted to see how the fight would have played out if Tsarukyan had not found the finish with just four seconds left in the opening round. Pimblett then doubled down on his belief that he could still beat Tsarukyan while questioning the Armenian’s wrestling.
He said, “That was a statement. I’d still punch his head in, though. I think that showed holes in his game. His wrestling’s not as good as he thinks it is. His eye’s mashed up off one right hand. I would have liked to have seen how that fight would have went on because he couldn’t get Ruffy down, and over the past couple of years, Ruffy hasn’t shown great takedown defense.”
The Liverpudlian continued, “Everyone goes on like Arman’s got the best wrestling in the UFC, and he showed there that he hasn’t whatsoever. I wasn’t expecting him to knock him out, at all. Even if it was in the clinch with a short elbow.”
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While Tsarukyan now appears to be next in line for the lightweight gold, the situation has become even more interesting with the potential rematch between Gaethje and Ilia Topuria.
Topuria has accused Gaethje of tampering with his gloves to gain an advantage during their UFC Freedom 250 clash. However, those accusations were dismissed by Andy Foster of the California State Athletic Commission and Dana White. With Gaethje expected to be out for the rest of the year, the lightweight title picture could get pretty interesting at 155 pounds.
Kshitiz Kumar Singh is a UFC Writer at NY Fights with over three years of experience in sports journalism and content creation. Known for his sharp storytelling and passion for combat sports, he has written in-depth features on stars like Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, and Ilia Topuria. Before joining NY Fights, Kshitiz worked as a UFC Editor at EssentiallySports while currently serving as a WWE Editor at FirstSportz. His admiration for legends like Georges St-Pierre continues to inspire his detailed and engaging MMA coverage. Whether he’s covering the Octagon or the squared circle, Kshitiz is committed to delivering accurate, high-quality content. Outside the world of sports, he’s a dedicated cinephile, often found practicing monologues from his favorite Al Pacino films, combining his love for cinema with storytelling.
