Arman Tsarukyan Counters Michael Chandler Over Missed UFC Title Shot, Islam Makhachev ‘Not Surprised'
UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev weighs in on Tsarukyan turning down a title fight.
Arman Tsarukyan isn't seeing eye-to-eye with his fellow lightweights.
To the victor, goes the spoils and that could said for Tsarukyan after his most high-profile win coming over former UFC champ Charles Oliveira at UFC 300. It wasn't easy, but the Armenian fighter outlasted multiple submission attempts to earn a narrow split decision victory.
Following 15 minutes of action in the Octagon, the new #1 lightweight contender was approached by the UFC brass about rematching current champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. While Tsarukyan has been working so hard to get to this point, a world title fight, he chose to pass on the opportunity with the event merely weeks away on June 1st.
With Tsarukyan not stepping up to the plate, Dustin Poirier will get a third chance to compete for undisputed gold in the main event of UFC 302 in Newark, New Jersey.
#7-ranked UFC Lightweight Michael Chandler criticized Tsarukyan for not taking up the UFC on the short-notice offer, citing he would have taken the title fight with Makhachev in a heartbeat:
"I also don't understand why he didn't take that fight. I would've taken it," Chandler said on The MMA Hour. "The sport moves very fast and June 1st you're gonna see the lightweight title [fight] happen, and then a couple weeks later you're gonna see the biggest fight [Conor McGregor vs. Chandler], a fight that's way bigger than that, happen."
Tsarukyan has now hit back at "Iron Mike" on social media, claiming their aspirations in the sport couldn't be any more different from each other. Since late 2022, Chandler has been patiently waiting for a super-fight with Conor McGregor and Tsarukyan has won four in a row in his absence.
"I don’t expect you to understand . We are not on the same level. I am here to be the champ. You are just waiting for a paycheck," Tsarukyan responded to Chandler on 'X'. "I also don’t understand why you waited Conor fight for 2 years, you could’ve lost 4 exciting fights during that time."
The backlash from Tsarukyan's untaken title shot doesn't stop and end with Michael Chandler. Now, a familiar face in reigning champion Islam Makhachev voiced his opinion on his former foe not locking horns with him. According to Makhachev, this isn't the first time Tsarukyan has opted out of a fight.
“I’m not surprised," Makhachev told New York Post Sports, regarding Tsarukyan turning down the title shot. "Because this guy talks about rematch all his life, but I don't remember, maybe this third or fourth time UFC gave him a chance to fight with me and he say no. The UFC told me ‘we give you opponent after UFC 300’, I knew if Arman beat [Charles] Oliveira, he [would] never take this fight. That’s why I’m not surprised.”
Islam Makhachev holds a past win over Arman Tsarukyan from 2019. The Russian defeated a 22 year-old Tsarukyan by unanimous decision, spoiling his UFC debut. Tsarukyan has only dropped one fight since then, being Mateusz Gamrot in 2022.
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