Arman Tsarukyan thought UFC 317 would be his big moment. He was the official backup fighter for the lightweight title bout between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira. He even made championship weight, laid the ghosts of his UFC 311 withdrawal to rest, and stayed ready. But when the dust settled after Topuria’s explosive knockout win, it wasn’t Tsarukyan who was called into the spotlight; it was Paddy Pimblett.

The crowd roared at the face-off between the newly crowned champ and ‘The Baddy’, and just like that, a potential title fight narrative was born, without Tsarukyan in it. So, what happened?

According to the 28-year-old lightweight contender, it was never supposed to go that way. “It was a Joe Rogan mistake,” he revealed during an interview with Daniel Cormier on YouTube. When the former champ-champ asked if Rogan had really made the call, Tsarukyan replied, “Yeah, Joe Rogan called him. It was Joe Rogan’s mistake, and he shouldn’t like even call his name, like bring him to the Octagon.”

The surprise quickly turned into frustration. After already accusing Topuria of “running from the real contender,” Tsarukyan went a step further on X, dragging another lightweight into the fire. His target? No. 7 ranked Dan Hooker as ‘Akhalkalakets’ wrote, “On a side note, Dan Hooker is still a b—. Just thought that needed to be said.”

And just like that, ‘The Hangman’ fired back with the kind of Kiwi sarcasm fans have come to love. He clapped back with, “You’re a human side note, Number 1 contender no one gives a f— about.”

Hooker’s brutal one-liner sparked laughs online, but he’s not just throwing shade. Hooker was supposed to face Justin Gaethje earlier this year at UFC 313 before a hand injury forced him out. As such, in a recent interview with MMA Junkie Radio, he shared that he expects to return in October or November and believes the division is wide open with Topuria now holding the belt.

But not before making sure to deliver a message to Tsarukyan as he stated, “Arman has been calling me out, and that’s the No. 1 contender, no one likes the guy, so I’d just like to kick his teeth in.”

With tensions building and both fighters throwing shots online, a showdown seems more likely than ever. But after Joe Rogan‘s UFC 317’s on-air fumble opened the door for Paddy Pimblett to steal Arman Tsarukyan’s moment, UFC CEO Dana White made one thing very clear: he wasn’t happy about any of it.

Dana White goes off on Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett’s faceoff as Arman Tsarukyan sidelined

The faceoff between Ilia Topuria and Pimblett may have excited fans, but it left the boss furious. Just minutes after Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira to claim the lightweight belt, ‘El Matador’ called for the Scouser and Rogan egged him on. Pimblett climbed over the barricade and entered the Octagon, seemingly uninvited and unplanned by the promotion. A brief shove and a rush of security later, further chaos was narrowly avoided.

But at the post-fight press conference, Dana White was furious as he stated, “I don’t know who the hell let him in there, that should have never happened. Let’s start there. I was already back in my room or that would have never happened.”

Well, Tsarukyan’s remarks in his interview with Daniel Cormier made it clear that he saw Joe Rogan as the instigator of the moment. But White’s frustration wasn’t just about optics. The UFC head honcho further shared, “My thing with Topuria, his wife and kid are in the Octagon, that’s not the fight. It shouldn’t have happened. That’s not really what we do.”

Interestingly, this wasn’t the only faceoff of the night. In the co-main event, Joshua Van entered the cage for a respectful exchange with flyweight champ Alexandre Pantoja. But White drew a clear line between the two situations. Van had earned his title shot. Pimblett had not.

Now, with Dana White slamming the moment, Dan Hooker calling him irrelevant, and no clear title shot in sight, Arman Tsarukyan finds himself at a crossroads. Will he be remembered as the contender who got overlooked, or the fighter who forced his way back into the title conversation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!