Even with a five-fight win streak and the No. 1 spot in the UFC’s lightweight rankings, Arman Tsarukyan’s road to a title shot is far from straightforward. UFC CEO Dana White made that clear Saturday night.
With UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria stepping away in the first quarter of 2026 to address personal matters, an interim title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett was booked to rekindle some momentum at 155 pounds for the UFC’s debut on Paramount on Jan. 24 at UFC 324. The surprising matchup immediately raised eyebrows, given Tsarukyan’s exclusion.
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The Armenian contender returned from a long layoff in November and dominated Dan Hooker in a fight the promotion explicitly labeled a No. 1 contender bout. Many assumed it was exactly the sort of statement Tsarukyan needed to reclaim his standing after a turbulent start to 2025.
Instead, White maintains Tsarukyan still hasn’t earned back what he lost.
“I wouldn’t say that [Tsarukyan] is the odd man out,” White said at UFC 323’s post-fight press conference. “He had an opportunity, and you guys know how that played out. He’s going to have to work his way back. I don’t give a s*** what the number [next to his name] says, he’s going have to work his way back.
“Too much goes into this for those type of things to happen. … You can’t do that. You can’t get the opportunity and it can’t end that way. So he’s just got to work his way back.”
Arman Tsarukyan is seemingly in title shot purgatory.
(NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Tsarukyan was originally slated to rematch then-lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in January at UFC 311, but withdrew due to injury just one day before fight night. As a result, UFC was forced to pivot to Renato Moicano, who was quickly submitted. It marked Makhachev’s final lightweight appearance before moving up to welterweight and capturing that title one week prior to Tsarukyan’s win over Hooker.
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Ultimately, White isn’t concerned about external criticism.
“He knows what’s going on,” White said of Tsarukyan. “I don’t give a s*** what everybody else says.”
Yet UFC’s matchmaking has stirred debate with it’s other big Paramount announcement, too. One week after UFC 324, the featherweight division title takes center stage when Alexander Volkanovski returns to defend his 145-pound title against Diego Lopes at UFC 325, in what is essentially an immediate rematch for the champion. Volkanovski defeated Lopes by unanimous decision in April to reclaim his belt.
Lopes has only fought once since, stopping Jean Silva this past September, but nonetheless leapfrogged unbeaten contenders like Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy.
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According to White, the polarizing selections were simply “just the way it played out in the war room.”
Beyond title pictures, White said he’s also monitoring rising heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson, the Olympic gold medalist who’s already begun making waves early in his heavyweight MMA career.
“Very much so. He’s on the radar, big time,” White said.
Steveson is 3-0 in combat sports (2-0 MMA) over the past three months with three quick knockouts, although White didn’t commit to a timetable for the American’s potential UFC arrival.
White also addressed recent rumors surrounding former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. This past week, reports suggested she was exploring a boxing match with pound-for-pound great Katie Taylor — a claim White emphatically shot down.
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“Total bulls***,” White said.
He also dismissed any talk of an MMA comeback for Rousey while emphasizing his appreciation for one of the UFC’s biggest trailblazers.
“That’s up to her. I personally cannot say enough good things about Ronda Rousey,” White said. “My experience with Ronda — when she was going to the WWE, the WWE called me to ask and I said, ‘I’m telling you right now, she’ll be the greatest athlete you ever worked with over there.’
“She was great when she was here.”
