Ilia Topuria is already speaking about Arman Tsarukyan like a possible title challenger, not just a backup name sitting near the lightweight belt.
During his appearance on DeepCut with VicBlends, Topuria dismissed Tsarukyan’s wrestling and said the Armenian contender has never faced anyone like him. Tsarukyan is currently linked to the UFC Freedom 250 title picture as the official backup for Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje, which keeps him close to the belt if anything changes before fight night.
Topuria opened by calling the possible matchup a good fight, then brought up Tsarukyan’s recent win over Dan Hooker.
“The fight with Arman, it’s gonna be a good fight,” Topuria said. “The last fight was against Dan Hooker. He has, I don’t know, 20 losses in his professional career.”
Topuria then aimed directly at Tsarukyan’s main weapon. He said Tsarukyan believes too much in his wrestling, and he made it clear he does not expect to be controlled if they ever meet.
“Bro, you never ever, like forget about it, never ever in your entire life you faced someone like me,” Topuria said. “I’m gonna embarrass you in front of everyone because with him, he thinks that he’s tough. He thinks that his wrestling is, I don’t know what, like he feels that he’s an Olympic champion.”
Watch the full interview below. The Tsarukyan exchange begins near the 1:00:46 mark.
Topuria Says Tsarukyan Will Panic If The Wrestling Fails
Topuria carries a 17-0 record and has already held UFC gold at featherweight before moving into the lightweight title picture. His recent run includes a knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 and a stoppage win over Max Holloway at UFC 308.
Tsarukyan enters the discussion with a 23-3 record and a freestyle wrestling and grappling background. That is the real fight question if this matchup happens. Tsarukyan’s best work comes through pressure, entries, scrambles, and top control. Topuria says that game will not be enough.
“Anyways, if he’s the best in the world in wrestling, when it comes to the octagon, bro, I’m the king,” Topuria said. “I do with you whatever I want to f****** do. And I told him, like, I’m gonna break his jaw in the first round.”
Topuria also described how he expects Tsarukyan to approach him from the opening seconds. He said the takedown attempts will come early, but the problem will start once Tsarukyan realizes control is not automatic.
“He’s gonna try to take me down since the beginning of the fight,” Topuria said. “And when he’s gonna realize that, bro, it’s not that easy. It’s not that easy to take these legs and take me down, especially to control me on the ground.”
Topuria ended the answer by saying Tsarukyan would panic if the wrestling plan failed, then repeated his threat to break his jaw.
“You crazy?” Topuria said. “And then he’s gonna start panic. He’s gonna be panicked and I want to break his jaw. Bam. In front of all his crowd, all his people, all his family, who gives a f***. Bam.”
The immediate fight remains Topuria vs. Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250, and Gaethje is too dangerous to treat like a formality. Still, Tsarukyan’s backup role keeps him in the title conversation, and Topuria is already attacking the exact skill set that would define that matchup.
If Topuria gets through Gaethje and the UFC moves toward Tsarukyan next, the pitch is simple. Tsarukyan brings the wrestling. Topuria says he will stop it, force panic, and finish him early. Their verbal back-and-forth has already included Topuria’s earlier shot at Tsarukyan and his father’s money, but this interview was more direct. It was about how Topuria thinks the actual fight would go.
