Arman Tsarukyan nearly had his anticipated return against an American MMA star on the UFC White House card dubbed UFC Freedom 250. However, the UFC ended up scrapping the fight. The reason? The Armenian claimed the promotion pulled the bout, believing he would dominate his opponent badly. And no, it wasn’t against Justin Gaethje.

In a recent interview with Patrick Bet-David, the top-ranked 155 lbs contender revealed that the UFC offered him a fight against Michael Chandler.

“They called me to fight Chandler,” Arman Tsarukyan revealed. “And then they understood that it’s bad for Chandler especially representing the U.S. 99.9 percent, I’m beating him, so they went with Ruffy. If either Chandler or Ruffy is hurt, they might call me.”

Well, Dana White hasn’t revealed anything about offering Tsarukyan his next fight at UFC White House. But if they actually pitched Michael Chandler, it’s an interesting choice to say the least. Currently, Tsarukyan is ranked No. 2 in the lightweight division, while Chandler sits much lower at No. 13, so the matchup doesn’t make much sense in terms of rankings. However, the matchup makes more sense considering their history.

For those who don’t know, Arman Tsarukyan called out Michael Chandler after defeating Damir Ismagulov at UFC Fight Night 216. However, the fight never materialized as both fighters went in different directions. Years later, the stars aligned once again when the Armenian called out the American star for a wrestling match in Real American Freestyle (RAF).

Chandler showed interest in facing the lightweight contender and also seemed open to a showdown inside the Octagon. With that underlying tension, the promotion may have been intrigued by the matchup. Still, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the 29-year-old would have been a sizable favorite, which could explain why the UFC may have hesitated to book him against a 40-year-old Chandler for the White House event.

Now, Dana White has made it clear that Tsarukyan needs to secure another win to cement his title shot. With that in mind, he may have taken the fight. Still, he is eager for an even more ambitious role for the June 14th event, which Tsarukyan believes might just not happen.

Arman Tsarukyan doubts his chances of being backup for Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje

Ahead of the White House card, Arman Tsarukyan positioned himself as the backup for the Ilia Topuria vs Justin Gaethje bout. Though the UFC hasn’t officially announced it, the Armenian was the backup fighter for the UFC 317 Topuria vs Oliveira clash. Hence, fans believed his take. However, as the event draws closer, ‘Ahalkalakets’ believes Gaethje wouldn’t pull out of the fight, and he won’t get the chance to face ‘El Matador’ for the belt.

“I haven’t thought about it yet because it hasn’t happened,” Tsarukyan told Adam Zubayraev recently. “Gaethje has rarely pulled out of fights. Whatever happens with Gaethje, he’ll go out there and just collect his cash, his money, because he’s making big money. No big deal. He knows these are his final fights anyway, so he’ll just make a lot of money and leave.”

Arman Tsarukyan is right to believe that Justin Gaethje most likely wouldn’t pull out of the fight even when faced with an injury. In his tenure so far, ‘The Highlight’ has never withdrawn from a UFC fight, and that stayed true even when fans rumored he would withdraw from the fight against Paddy Pimblett because of a staph infection that he claimed was an ingrown hair.

In that case, chances are that we would see Justin Gaethje step in to unify the belt against Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250. With the title picture momentarily frozen, Tsarukyan is left in a frustrating holding pattern, forced to wait for the dust to settle at UFC Freedom 250.