Regarding the issue of Arman Tsarukyan being sidelined

[Just Creed]

Arman seems like a knob tbh. I can't imagine he's easy to work with so i'm gonna assume he's brought it on himself...likely something unprofessional as usual.

 

[Conan the K-9]

I think Arman didn’t agree taking the bag and putting on a scripted show. He is the one who doesn’t need that money.

 

[rjmbrd]

The notion that Topuria is afraid of anyone is hilarious. That is one exquisitely self-confident dude, and for good reason.

Arman goes to a controversial split decision with Charles, and nearly got submitted. Topuria MURDERED Charles in the first round with complete impunity.

I recall him saying he spent an hour crying alone in a room the night before the fight, upset thinking about what he was going to do to Oliveira. Dude was not lying or exaggerating, he unequivocally knew he was going to KO a guy he respected and liked.

Arman is broadly a point wrestler, albeit clearly the current #1 contender now. Its possible he can out wrestle Topuria for 3 of 5 rounds without getting KO'd, but its not something to be afraid of.

 

[BoxingFan653]

I'm a fan of Arman but to be fair if memory serves me right Jon Jones not taking on Chael last minute really didn't sit well with Dana and he proceeded to eviscerate him for years. It took a while to recover from that decision and Jon just stated he didn't want a last minute opponent so it wasn't like in Arman's case where he pulled out last minute.

UFC also sidelined Khamzat imho during 2020-2022 though no one till this day knows wtf that was all about but they historically suck at these scenarios. They want to 'send a message' to all fighters on the do's and dont's and their fear is if they give Arman a shot it'll encourage more fighters to do the same though I don't think it would.

 

[NicholasJBasile]

There’s another thing that hasn’t been mentioned in this whole story. It wasn’t the first time Tsarukyan was sidelined. It was the second. Earlier in the year he was supposed to fight for the belt against Topuria. The justification was the same: “Arman pulled out of the fight against Islam.”

Now, a year later, Dana brings up the same excuse to take him out of 2026, even though he already paid the price, already took a fight he shouldn’t have had to take, and won. He should be square with the UFC by now.

But why isn’t he? Because the UFC wants to protect another of its darlings. They protected Topuria, and now they’re protecting Paddy. That’s the real reason — the rest is nonsense.

I think it's just another example of Dana allowing for his personal disdain of someone to dictate how the company is run.

 

[jeff7b9]

#5 is fighting #6 and afterwards someone is going to put a "championship belt" on.


If you are making excuses to justify this, you are part of the problem.


The UFC at this point is a fucking joke.

 

[shunyata]

I must say, the more I think about it... Arman:

-attacked a fan
-ruined a title fight
-blatantly ducked Gamrot
-headbutted Hooker at weigh-ins

The UFC want reliable champions, not loose cannons. Arman is acting every bit the spoiled rich kid he's accused of being.

True, this is not the behavior of a champion.

Attacking fans, headbutting Hookers.

Next thing you know he'll be attacking his fiancée and headbutting police cars like a real champion.

 

[Alpha_T83]

True, this is not the behavior of a champion.

Attacking fans, headbutting Hookers.

Next thing you know he'll be attacking his fiancée and headbutting police cars like a real champion.

Hahaha, agreed on Dana White's double standards. Same with Khamzat pulling out of fights and not being punished like Arman was.

We don't call it "Dana White privilege" for nothing.

 

[Alpha_T83]

#5 is fighting #6 and afterwards someone is going to put a "championship belt" on.


If you are making excuses to justify this, you are part of the problem.


The UFC at this point is a fucking joke.

Yea, I'm not a fan of Gaethje being rewarded for saying "either I get a title fight or I retire", nor am I a fan of Paddy getting a title shot (he hasn't earned it yet).

Even if we accept that Arman gets punished again for headbutting Hooker, it should still be Holloway vs Oliveira for the interim title.

 

[richardjohnson]

It’s so weird to me that there are people in favour of Arman not getting a TS. He’s very possibly the best fighter in the division and despite the pullout earlier this year he is still more deserving than Paddy or Gaethje. It literally does nothing but screw over the fans, how can these people not see that?

 

[shunyata]

Hahaha, agreed on Dana White's double standards. Same with Khamzat pulling out of fights and not being punished like Arman was.

We don't call it "Dana White privilege" for nothing.

Craig Jones opened my eyes to how similar the fight promotion game is to pimping.

Dana even complained publicly that if he pays fighters too much they become difficult to control.

It's not just the missing weight and fucking up a title fight issue, it's that nothing pisses a pimp off more than a ho he can't control because she doesn't need his money and she knows it.

 

[jeff7b9]

Yea, I'm not a fan of Gaethje being rewarded for saying "either I get a title fight or I retire", nor am I a fan of Paddy getting a title shot (he hasn't earned it yet).

Even if we accept that Arman gets punished again for headbutting Hooker, it should still be Holloway vs Oliveira for the interim title.

It's a shame... because it is a great fight.

But yeah. Not only are these guys not the most deserving pair to fight for a belt. They are clear as day not even the 2nd most deserving pair.

It SHOULD be a lot of fun, a collision of styles
One of the most battle tested Just Bleed Warriors of all time vs ... a guy with a weird haircut and funny accent who may or may not be as good as he says he is and we finally find out by seeing him fight an opponent who is younger than 37, on a winning streak, and is deserving of a title fight...


 anyway...
I hope it is violent, action packed and decisive.

It just sucks that they had to cheapen it but putting the paper-est paper title yet on it for some reason.

 

[jeff7b9]

It’s so weird to me that there are people in favour of Arman not getting a TS. He’s very possibly the best fighter in the division and despite the pullout earlier this year he is still more deserving than Paddy or Gaethje. It literally does nothing but screw over the fans, how can these people not see that?

I don't even like Arman, honestly he seems like a real jackass and a spoiled brat.

But it is painfully obvious he is the true #1 contender

 

[bubbleboyjones]

Why did he pull out? Back injury while cutting weight? So he just missed weight.

I dunno. Like others said hes a massive problem with the missed weight cut and fuckery with out of cage fighting. UFC is way to lenient with the missed weight cuts. You miss one time ban from weight class. If I was UFC I would send his ass right up to 170lbs and then you can face your Islam again.


https://bloodyelbow.com/2025/12/12/...-actually-pulled-out-against-islam-makhachev/

 

[Tweak896]

People like me are frustrated of the drag Arman caused. Not only that, but if we're waiting 3/4 a year for Topuria to return, it's for a guy who is going to try and hold him for 5 rounds.

Just looking at his win streak. Yes, no one better right now. But without fighting he really killed the LW division for maybe second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025. then refused Gamrot, then finally accepted Hooker when it was clear he wasn't getting it.

He beat Olivera by split decision at 300, hit a fan walking out. Suspended 9 months on June 25th 2024, around when Islam fought Dustin, but could get it reduced to 6 months to fight by October 12, but the UFC had Max/Topuria booked that month by July. So basically UFC still needed Arman to get his sentence reduced to be sure. December 12, was the only guarantee they could make to setup far in advanced, but the catch is the last PPV of 2024 was December 7th. So he couldn't even make that. So they made it in January 2025.

He misses weight, I mean "hurt his back" in January, leaving Islam 24 hours to make his last LW defense against Moicano, further tarnishing his legacy out of his hands. The UFC says to take Gamrot, Arman refuses and instead just "weighs in to prove a point" at Topuria/Olivera, which if it's an injury and not a weight cut issue, I don't know the problem.

I think Arman has a boring style who's going to ride out a decision on the ground if he has his way, plus unreliable. Gaethje is about to retire and a diva refusing everything but a title shot for his 1 fight win streak. Then Paddy hasn't proven with a top 5 guy, but wanted to, but all of them were busy.

You can dismiss each guy as worthy of a title. Whoever they choose is bad for whatever reason. Atleast if it's Gaethje or Paddy we'll probably get a fun fight. More people shouldn't take such a hard stance with this stuff. Arman isn't an innocent baby being bullied.

 

[Koya]

There’s another thing that hasn’t been mentioned in this whole story. It wasn’t the first time Tsarukyan was sidelined. It was the second. Earlier in the year he was supposed to fight for the belt against Topuria. The justification was the same: “Arman pulled out of the fight against Islam.”

Now, a year later, Dana brings up the same excuse to take him out of 2026, even though he already paid the price, already took a fight he shouldn’t have had to take, and won. He should be square with the UFC by now.

But why isn’t he? Because the UFC wants to protect another of its darlings. They protected Topuria, and now they’re protecting Paddy. That’s the real reason — the rest is nonsense.

Honestly Arman should just take another fight ASAP like in February and be in a dominant position. Best way to lessen the UFC options.

 

[AMAZINGUFC]

Honestly Arman should just take another fight ASAP like in February and be in a dominant position. Best way to lessen the UFC options.

You're right colleague: either Arman retires or fights as soon as possible.

The best option available is Gamrot.

The tough part is that 2026 is already compromised because of Topuria, Nate Diaz...how many more fights will he have to do? He'll inevitably have to take on a new lion and might end up falling by the wayside, he's screwed.

 

[wrb]

I must say, the more I think about it... Arman:

-attacked a fan
-ruined a title fight
-blatantly ducked Gamrot
-headbutted Hooker at weigh-ins

The UFC want reliable champions, not loose cannons. Arman is acting every bit the spoiled rich kid he's accused of being.

lol.. Yeah I am an Arman fan but I realized how many tines he fucked up some time ago and now it makes me laugh (except the "blatantly ducked Gamrot" He was so robbed.. sorry I don't want to go off on a tangent) But yes he has fucked up alot. Its almost kind of "cool" that he has been able to fuck over the UFC so many times and still be considered the number 1 contender at LW.

TLDR: The UFC has been fucking Arman over since Islam was climbing the ranks and Arman has (either on purpose or accidentally ) returned the favor and we now know his actions were actually causing them issues. Its kind of poetic really. Keep in mind you have to be really good to do what Arman has done and still be in the conversation. lol

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

That's the problem, he already went to the back of the line, went back to the beginning, and they sent him to the back of the line again without losing to anyone; in fact, he won.


We've never seen anything like it...

Not at all true. He just had his first fight after being inactive for 18 total months after flubbing a title shot.

He was offered a fight with Gamrot, and declined it. Declined a chance to get a ranked win and one of his losses back.
Feel like Arman has some behind the scenes issues with the UFC outside of the obvious ones.

 

[The XL]

Arman didn't fight for over a year and a half, beats Dan Hooker, and now is undeniable? His last fight before that was a split decision against an old Charles. The Gamrot loss hasn't aged well either.