Arman Tsaruykan should be fighting for the UFC lightweight title next, according to Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal.
Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) was set for a lightweight title shot against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, but pulled out with an injury during fight week. There has been plenty of speculation about what really happened with Tsaruykan and his withdrawal, but one thing is certain: ever since then, he’s been on UFC CEO Dana White’s naughty list, which has led to him being snubbed for a vacant title opportunity at UFC 324.
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“I think this doghouse situation is petty,” Lawal told MMA Junkie Radio. “You know, every person, every man or woman, will make a mistake, but I thought that in America, we’re all about redemption. I feel like Arman has redeemed himself twice. He made weight as a backup, and then he put on an entertaining performance versus Hooker. So what else needs to be done?”
“I don’t understand what they’re doing – that’s their company. I’m just an outsider, but I feel like he should be fighting for the belt right now.”
Lawal, who coaches at American Top Team where Tsarukyan trains, doesn’t understand why Tsarukyan has received this treatment from the UFC. Tsarukyan is currently on a five-fight winning streak, including a win over former champion Charles Oliveria. He most recently submitted Dan Hooker in the main event of the promotion’s first trip to Doha, Qatar.
For now, Tsarukyan will be on the outside looking in as Justin Gaethje will fight Paddy Pimblett for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 324.
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“Paddy Pimblett is a great fighter, he’s doing his thing right now,” Lawal said. “He’s great winning his fights. Gaethje is a great fighter himself, but I’m not sure if either of those two can beat Arman Tsarukyan. Arman to me is the top guy at that weight class, aside from Ilia Topuria.”
While Tsarukyan has been stellar inside the octagon, he has had a few incidents outside of it, which may be why the UFC is hesitant to book him for another title opportunity. He punched a fan during his walkout to fight Oliveira at UFC 300, and most recently, headbutted Hooker during the ceremonial weigh-ins.
“King Mo” thinks sometimes some controversy is good for the fight business.
“There’s a fighter from the UK named Derek Chisora, ‘Del Boy,’ and he told me, ”Mo’, sometimes if I want to generate buzz, I’ll go out there and do something crazy. You know, I might get fined £5,000, but I’ll make that up on the backend with ticket sales.’ So with that headbutt – people looked at Hooker vs. Tsarukyan like it’s gonna be a ‘ehh,’ but as soon as the headbutt landed, people were like, ‘OK, what’s gonna happen now?’
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“This might have lit a fire under Hooker and Hooker might come out a little stronger. And you know what? Hooker came out and locked in a guillotine or two, and made Arman scramble, go to his back. … It would be different if Hooker was like, ‘I can’t fight because of the headbutt.’ But that didn’t happen. What did happen is people saw that, they shared the headbutt at the weigh-ins, and people became more in tuned and more intrigued about the fight and the matchup.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: ‘King Mo’: Arman Tsarukyan-UFC ‘doghouse situation is petty’
