UFC CEO Dana White Reveals Official Backup Fighter for Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje

UFC CEO Dana White has confirmed that there’s already a backup fighter in place for the upcoming lightweight title bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.

Scheduled to headline “UFC Freedom 250” at The White House on June 14, the matchup between Topuria and Gaethje will see “The Highlight” attempt to unify the UFC lightweight belts after he defeated Paddy Pimblett to secure interim gold for the second time.

The fight will also mark the first time that Topuria has stepped into the cage to defend the UFC lightweight title, which the undefeated star claimed by knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 after he vacated the promotion’s featherweight belt.

Dana White Reveals Backup Fighter for Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje

Speaking on a recent Kick stream with Nina Drama, UFC boss White revealed that Arman Tsarukyan is the official backup fighter for Topuria vs. Gaethje.

“Arman is the backup for the White House fight,” White said in response to a fan question regarding Tsarukyan’s next fight. “So if anything happen to that fight, Arman’s in there.”

Arman Tsarukyan during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Currently sitting one spot behind interim titleholder Gaethje at #2 in the official UFC lightweight rankings, Tsarukyan was scheduled to rematch Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt at UFC 311 before withdrawing with an injury on weigh-in day.

Arman Tsarukyan Has Stayed Busy Since Missed UFC Title Opportunity

White famously declared that Tsarukyan would have to work his way back into title contention after throwing UFC 311 into disarray, but apparently the lightweight contender’s recent efforts have managed to get him back into the promotion’s good graces.

Riding the momentum of a five-fight win streak that began following a highly-controversial loss to Mateusz Gamrot, Tsarukyan most recently submitted Dan Hooker in his first (and so far, only) Octagon appearance after pulling out of the rematch with Makhachev. The 29-year-old has been actively campaigning for a title shot since then, and he’s also stayed incredibly busy by competing in a number of grappling bouts over the last year.

Arman Tsarukyan following his win over Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar. | (Zuffa LLC)

“Ahalkalakets” currently has RAF wrestling matches scheduled for May 30 (vs. Keelon Jimison) and June 13 (vs. former interim UFC Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson). The bout with Ferguson is set to take place in St. Louis, MO the day before the White House card, so it will be interesting to see if Tsarukyan’s status as the Topuria vs. Gaethje backup fighter alters the plans for RAF 10.

Ilia Topuria (red gloves) fights Charles Oliveira (blue gloves) during UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

“UFC Freedom 250” will also see Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane square off for the interim heavyweight belt in the night’s co-main event. As of yet, the UFC has not announced if there will be a designated backup fighter for that title bout.

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