Ilia Topuria is still not buying the Arman Tsarukyan push, and the UFC lightweight champion made that clear with a long list of insults aimed straight at the top contender.
Speaking to Yahoo Sports, Topuria ripped Tsarukyan’s recent public image, mocked the way he carries himself online, and dismissed him as a serious threat.
“I’m really impressed with how dumb he is,” Topuria said. “He’s a r*tard. I don’t know, he looks like a kid. He’s a kid. His mentality. He’s dumb as f*ck. Everything I saw about him on the internet is embarrassing. F*ck Arman, who cares about him?”
Topuria has already been tied to bigger lightweight questions while holding the belt.
He did not stop there.
“The thing that I don’t like is when they play that they’re rich, and they show all that money. Bro, you’re not even rich. … The only things that you have is money, and you’re spending your father’s money, not even yours. You know what I mean. He’s a f*cking kid.”
Topuria says Tsarukyan is not on his level
Topuria’s attack carries extra weight because of where he sits right now. He is the reigning UFC lightweight champion after moving up from featherweight, where he won the title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski and then defended it by stopping Max Holloway. He later moved to 155 pounds and knocked out Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight belt, which is why he now talks like a man picking challengers instead of chasing them.
Tsarukyan, meanwhile, remains one of the UFC’s top-ranked lightweights and has spent the past year trying to force his way into the title picture. He served as the backup fighter for UFC 317 and kept his name moving through RAF appearances, influencer streams, and repeated public callouts. He also stayed in headlines for the wrong reasons after the recent Urijah Faber incident at RAF 8.
Topuria did not make it sound competitive.
“He’s not on my level,” Topuria said. “If we cross paths, I’m gonna break his jaw in the first round. What’s he going to do? He’s going to take me down? F*ck, please. Listen to me, calm down. Calm down, do your thing, go to those wrestling tournaments, do your streams, and whenever the moment arrives, just make sure to show up, and I’m going to do the rest. The little weasel.”
Topuria also made it clear that his issue is not fear of the matchup. “
If they call me tomorrow and they tell me that Justin is injured, I will fight Arman,” Topuria said. “No problem. If they call me and they tell me Arman is injured and I have to fight [you], I’ll fight [you], no problem. I can go whoever, whenever. I’m ready for whoever.”
There is still no actual fight booked between them, and there has never been a previous bout to settle any of this. That keeps Tsarukyan close enough to the title picture to matter, even if Topuria clearly does not think he belongs there yet.
