Arman Tsarukyan didn’t have much hope of getting a title shot.
Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje are scheduled to fight for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324 on Jan. 24 in Las Vegas. This deprived Tsarukyan of yet another shot at the lightweight title. “Ahalkalakets” was initially sidelined after withdrawing from a title shot against Islam Makhachev earlier this year. When Ilia Topuria won the title, he ignored repeated callouts from Tsarukyan, plotting a defense against Pimblett (23-3) instead.
Tsarukyan (23-3) had one shot at securing a gold bid with a submission win over Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar earlier this month.