There is a new update on Arman Tsarukyan and his next fight. But it’s not what you think. After pulling out of the UFC 311 main event fight at the last moment, his momentum had clearly been affected. However, the Armenian star has come to terms with the fact that it is better now to aim for a title eliminator than a title shot. However, after lightweight champion Ilia Topuria’s team apparently leaked his next opponent, it seems like Tsarukyan has also found his next matchup, which is taking place next month.

Earlier today, Ilia Topuria‘s manager spilled the beans on his next opponent, likely at UFC 322. And for his first title defense, ‘El Matador’ wants Justin Gaethje. For Arman Tsarukyan, though, he was initially looking to land a fight in October, a month when two UFC PPVs will go down. However, now he will have to make do with his next fight, which he announced on Instagram recently. But there’s a small catch. It is not really a fight in the UFC because it’s a grappling contest.

Yes, Arman Tsarukyan is going to compete in a grappling match at the Absolute Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, at an event in memory of a martial artist who recently passed away. While there is no certain report about the reason behind his passing, Alil Gaziev, who was a BJJ practitioner, is being paid tribute on September 19, and Tsarukyan will be joining the ACBJJ promotion in honoring the Russian fighter. “The main contender for the UFC lightweight title and one of the best fighters in the world, Arman Tsarukyan, will appear at the ACBJJ18 tournament, dedicated to the memory of Alil Gaziev! Who would you like to see as an opponent for Arman?” the promotion’s Instagram post read.

The fact that Ilia Topuria has the title and a potential fight at hand is definitely salt on his wounds, as he’s been looking for the belt for a long time. Meanwhile, it appears that Arman Tsarukyan has found himself in the midst of some angry reactions from fans after this particular announcement. Even though the grappling match is for a good cause, that is not the kind of matchup fans are interested in at the moment, with so much competition in the division.

Fans want Arman Tsarukyan back in the UFC

It has been almost over a year and a half since Arman Tsarukyan was in action, and that has been bugging his fans. They’d had enough and appeared to be running out of patience, with a fan commenting, “Man compete in ufc.” They’re clearly frustrated, which is also the case with a couple of other fans, who claim that he should have fought a top contender while waiting for a title shot all these months. “Anything but fighting one more contenderm,” that fan noted. Meanwhile, another fan wanted Dana White to release him from the UFC. “Drop him from the ufc tf is this s–t,” the fan demanded.

Even though there is talk about Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett possibly fighting each other, Tsarukyan’s fans want to see him fight the Liverpudlian instead. There is hype surrounding ‘The Baddy ‘ and he has yet to fight a top 5 contender. Maybe that’s not a bad idea, and so, on that note, one user on Instagram commented, “Anything but fighting Pimblett.”

A certain section of fans, meanwhile, appeared to have Arman Tsarukyan’s back. They believe it is Ilia Topuria who’s avoiding the Armenian star under the guise of Tsarukyan being unreliable. Claiming that ‘Ahalkalakets’ is a serious threat to Topuria, a fan wrote, “Aptoro taptoro’s nightmare,” with an ode to Conor McGregor’s infamous rant on ‘El Matador’. Another fan added, “Khabib said Arman will finish topuria easily….. that’s why topuria is refusing to fight Arman,” reiterating Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s recent comments.

Arman Tsarukyan may be facing heat here, but with Dana White making positive comments about him at the UFC 317 presser, we might get some kind of announcement in the coming weeks or months. So, let us know your thoughts about Tsarukyan’s announcement in the comments down below.