Paddy Pimblett isn’t buying the outrage. In his view, Arman Tsarukyan deserved to be snubbed. The UFC recently announced that Paddy ‘The Baddy’ will take on Justin Gaethje at UFC 324, with the winner earning a shot at Ilia Topuria’s lightweight gold. It immediately sparked controversy, coming right after Tsarukyan, the division’s No. 1 contender, dominantly defeated Dan Hooker. Instead of getting his deserved crack at gold, Tsarukyan watched the UFC pass him over completely.

Many fans pointed to Arman Tsarukyan missing his chance at UFC 311, when he was originally scheduled to face Islam Makhachev for the title but withdrew due to a back injury. Still, Pimblett insists there’s more behind the UFC’s decision than a last-minute pullout. During a fiery appearance on Full Send MMA, he laid out the reasons he believes the Armenian contender was overlooked. And why he thinks the UFC made the right call.

Paddy Pimblett brings up Tsarukyan’s past

Speaking to Full Send MMA, Paddy Pimblett was asked for his reaction to the Armenian contender losing out on the opportunity to face Ilia Topuria for the title. Pimblett wasted no time laying out his reasoning. “It’s not even just that, though, is it?” Pimblett said, referring to Tsarukyan’s last-minute withdrawal from his title fight against Makhachev.

“Like people talk about my last three wins. Yeah. Tony Ferguson, who was on his way out. [Beneil] Dariush looks about 65 with a head of grey hair,” he added. Despite criticism against his own wins, Pimblett feels Arman Tsarukyan hasn’t done much himself. “He didn’t beat Charles Oliveira. A lot of people didn’t think he won that fight.” 

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Pimblett also pointed to an incident at UFC 300 involving Tsarukyan. “On his way out of the cage, he punched a fan. Got banned. The UFC probably had to pay a huge f**king fee for the fella not to sue them.” The NSAC suspended him for nine months and fined $25,000. The fan didn’t end up suing the UFC—instead apologized for flipping off Arman.

Regardless, Pimblett continued, criticizing Tsarukyan’s pullout. “He then got his title shot and ‘Oh I’ve got a bad back’… Sits out for f**king 11 months, got offered a fight against [Mateusz] Gamrot and says no.” According to reports, Tsarukyan refused the rematch because he felt disrespected by the offer since Gamrot was ranked lower than him.

Mateusz Gamrot, of course, defeated Tsarukyan back in June 2022. Pimblett ended by questioning Tsarukyan’s grappling. “If Dan Hooker is nearly guillotining you, you’re s**t at jits.” While Dan Hooker attempted guillotine chokes twice, Arman escaped both effortlessly and proceeded to dominate the fight.

Nonetheless, when ACD MMA shared the clip of Pimblett’s rant on X, many fans were surprisingly supportive of his reasoning.

Arman Tsarukyan loses public favor

After the fight’s announcement, many people showed outrage. But Pimblett’s rant appears to have flipped the narrative. One user claimed they didn’t like Paddy Pimblett as a fighter, but couldn’t disagree. “I don’t even like Paddy, but those are hard facts. 😆,” the user commented. However, this argument still doesn’t justify his shot at the interim title, especially because he is lower in the rankings. 

Even the next user had similar feelings about Pimblett’s claims. “I…think I agree on all points 👀,” the user commented. While Pimblett might be right, he has defeated fighters who were on their way out of the sport. Not to mention, he never fought Charles Oliveira. 

The next user had an issue with one of Pimblett’s own wins, but agreed with his claims. “Da Baddy got a questionable decision himself, but nothing he said here was false,” the user wrote. The user is referring to Pimblett’s win over Jared Gordon in December 2022. Despite winning the fight via unanimous decision, many branded it a robbery. 

Someone else branded Arman Tsarukyan a boring fighter while criticizing his inactivity. “Paddy is right, though. Fans don’t want boring and lazy fighters like Arman, who can sit out a year without activity,” the user commented. After Tsarukyan defeated Oliveira, he was on the sidelines for nine months due to his suspension, and then he suffered a back injury. 

Meanwhile, this user wasn’t convinced that Pimblett’s skip to a title shot was justifiable. “All due respect, but Arman will maul you. Let’s not beat around the bush and justify that you’re the right contender, nor Justin. As a fan, I’ll still watch your fight. Hope the best man wins,” the user wrote. If fighters are allowed to skip contenders, what is the ranking for? 

Anyway, Paddy Pimblett seems to believe that Arman’s snub is punishment for the latter’s problematic moments. But if it was a punishment because he had caused the UFC issues, why not release Arman Tsarukyan entirely? Not to forget, Ilia Topuria had refused to fight Arman. How is UFC any better than boxing, something UFC CEO Dana White takes pride in repeating?