“Here’s the stupidity in the whole ‘Dana White privilege’ talk”. Dana White said during the recent Triggernometry podcast that there’s no such thing. As an example, the UFC CEO used Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, and, surprisingly, Bo Nickal to make his case. However, disagreements will always come his way, since many believe he definitely prefers and has preferred certain fighters over others, and honestly, the list is long. But now Sean O’Malley believes Ilia Topuria should’ve been added to that list. Why?

At UFC Qatar, Arman Tsarukyan pulled off a dominant, masterful performance against Dan Hooker. After asserting control for most of the fight, the Armenian submitted the Kiwi with an arm triangle choke in the second round and then called out the lightweight champion on the mic. Because of that, most fans believe Tsarukyan, as the number one contender, definitely made his case to face Topuria next. But the former bantamweight champion doesn’t think that’s the situation, as he predicts the UFC would never make this fight. 

Sean O’Malley believes the UFC would protect Ilia Topuria from Arman Tsarukyan

Talking about ‘Akhalkalakets’ chances to defeat ‘El Matador,’ O’Malley said on his uploaded video on X, “Arman is no f— joke. Arman vs Ilia is an interesting matchup. I don’t think the UFC would make Arman vs Ilia. I think they love Ilia; he’s a great champion, and I don’t think they really want Arman to become champion. He has a f— legitimate chance to beat Ilia. I can’t believe I said it. I think Ilia might knock him out, but if anyone has the chance to beat Ilia at 155 lbs, it’s Arman, the Turkey Mound.”

Well, ‘Suga’ rightfully pointed out that Arman Tsarukyan definitely looks like the fighter most likely to defeat Ilia Topuria right now. But is Dana White actually safeguarding ‘El Matador’? That definitely isn’t true. Although it’s another truth that the promotion clearly likes the Georgian-Spaniard as the champion, he has so far faced Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira back-to-back. Nobody gets those names if the UFC actually wants to protect someone.

On the flip side, O’Malley has also dealt with similar criticism in his career for not facing tough competition until fighting Petr Yan at UFC 280. That said, before the UFC decides whether they want to make Topuria against Tsarukyan, there might be other reasons involved. There could be contract issues, health concerns, and most importantly, whether there are enough eyeballs on the fight. However, it’s also true that, at this point, ‘Akhalkalakets’ does seem like in the frontline to fight for the title shot. 

Moreover, the Armenian also seems very confident about his chances to beat Topuria, because he puts a lot of faith in the development of his all-around fighting style. 

Tsarukyan predicts an easy win against ‘El Matador’ 

In the UFC, Arman Tsarukyan is known for his indomitable wrestling prowess. He showed that mastery on the ground in his past fights and again in his recent fight against Dan Hooker as well. Still, you have to accept that striking remains the Armenian’s most underrated aspect. During his fight with Charles Oliveira at UFC 300, Tsarukyan showed he could actually go toe to toe with the Brazilian’s power and even win the bout. With that confidence, he believes fighting Topuria with an all-around approach would give him the edge.

At the UFC Qatar post-fight presser, Arman Tsarukyan said, “In my mind, I can strike with him in the long distance, but when he wants to try to box me and throw his hard punch, I’m going to shoot and take him down. I believe in myself, and I know I can beat him so easy, as well.”

And that’s actually a clever strategy against someone like Ilia Topuria, who cuts the cage a lot. Both fighters stand at the same 5’7’’ height, but Tsarukyan holds a 3.5-inch reach advantage over the champion. Using that, ‘Akhalkalakets’ can actually work the distance to his advantage and land precise jabs or elbows, which work really well against a close-range, powerful striker like ‘El Matador’.

However, it’s also true that the Armenian tends to keep his chin a little high while striking, and that could be detrimental in a fight against Topuria. That said, Tsarukyan might have solved Dana White’s problem of finding a contender for the reigning lightweight champion. Do you think the fight would actually happen in the future?

Let us know in the comments section below.