Paddy Pimblett isn’t content with unfairly getting a shot at the interim lightweight title. He wants to humiliate Arman Tsarukyan for the quality of his opponents lately. ‘The Baddy’ is slated to face Justin Gaethje on January 24 at UFC 324 for the interim lightweight belt. The winner would go on to face the division’s top dog, Ilia Topuria. 

However, Arman Tsarukyan, who last defeated Dan Hooker in a title eliminator fight, cementing his place as the No.1 contender in the lightweight division, was snubbed. Since then, Pimblett has faced a lot of flak from the community for the unjust opportunity. So, he has resorted to downplaying the Armenian’s abilities, including his last few opponents.

Paddy Pimblett is confident Arman Tsarukyan can’t hold him down

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall recently visited Pimblett in his gym, Next Generation MMA Liverpool. As they got to chatting, ‘The Baddy’ claimed, “[Hooker] nearly guillotined him, which shows how bad Arman’s grappling is. If I get you in a guillotine, you’re going unconscious.” While Hooker attempted two guillotines, Tsarukyan escaped both.

Ultimately, Tsarukyan dominated Hooker, submitting him via arm-triangle choke in Round 2 at 3:34. Although Pimblett wasn’t impressed with Tsarukyan’s escape from the guillotine, Sean O’Malley was visibly shocked and amazed by Arman Tsarukyan’s incredible, agile escape from Hooker’s guillotine choke.

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Regardless, Paddy Pimblett acknowledged that Tsarukyan has great wrestling, but not good enough to beat him. “He’s got good wrestling, but he wouldn’t be able to hold me down,” Pimblett added in his YouTube video. He wasn’t content with that, though, roping in Tsarukyan’s last few opponents. “He beat Dariush, who’s about 48,” Pimblett said. 

“A lot of people don’t think he beat Charles. And then he fought f—king Dan Hooker, who’s, let’s be honest, s—t.” Pimblett’s attempt at discrediting Arman Tsarukyan, however, didn’t seem to have worked among fans, who quickly started turning on him when ‘Championship Rounds’ posted a clip of his claims on X. 

Charles Oliveira roped in to prove Pimblett wrong

Pimblett’s unfair title shot hasn’t helped his image. After he made the comments, this user brought in Charles Oliveira to prove Pimblett wrong in a sarcastic response. “Just like when Charles (best submission specialist OAT) had him in a guillotine?” the user wrote. At UFC 300, Oliveira jumped on a deep arm-in guillotine early. It looked dangerous, but Tsarukyan survived and escaped it with incredible composure. 

Another user brought up Pimblett’s own past fights. “Jared Gordon beat you, bro, just stop. And you didn’t finish Tony Ferguson either,” the user commented. Although Pimblett won the Gordon fight via unanimous decision, it was one of the most controversial decisions in recent UFC history. Almost everyone, and Gordon himself, thought Gordon clearly won.

Someone else could not believe Pimblett said what he said. “Not paddy bringing up the ages of fighters Arman fought,” the user commented. When Paddy fought Michael Chandler, the latter was 38, King Green was 37, and Tony Ferguson was 39. 

The next user went all in, criticizing Pimblett. “This guy’s getting a title shot off a robbery, 0-8 Ferguson, CTE Green, and Michael Chandler, and he has the audacity to talk abt Arman’s opponents 😭😭,” the user commented. Not to mention, Pimblett is ranked No. 5 in the lightweight list without having fought anyone from the top 5—his title shot is just ridiculous. 

Meanwhile, this user predicted how a fight between Tsarukyan and Pimblett would unfold. “Okay, to be fair, Arman would smoke Paddy in any way,” the user commented. If Pimblett somehow beats Justin Gaethje and then beats Ilia Topuria, fans may find out which way this fight goes. 

Paddy Pimblett shouldn’t be talking about Arman’s past opponents—at least that’s what the public feels. But what about you? Do you agree with Pimblett?