One top-ranked UFC lightweight believes Paddy Pimblett has no place on the official 155-pound rankings
Pimblett currently holds the No. 9 spot, but some are wondering if he can leapfrog his way to a No. 1 contender fight or even a title bout. Ilia Topuria recently captured the UFC Lightweight Championship and had a staredown with “The Baddy” inside the Octagon.
While the Topuria vs. Pimblett would be marketable, Arman Tsarukyan doesn’t believe Pimblett has any business in the rankings. Appearing on the “Overdogs Podcast,” Tsarukyan downplayed “The Baddy’s” resume (via MMAFighting).
“You’ve got to delete [Pimblett] from the rankings,” Tsarukyan said. “He’s not even deserving to be in top 10. He beat the last three guys, it was [Michael] Chandler, he had three losses. It was Bobby Green, he had three or four losses. It was Tony Ferguson, he had eight losses. That’s crazy and you want to bring that guy to fight for the title? You shouldn’t even mention his name, he doesn’t even deserve even mentioning his name.”
At this time, it isn’t known who will challenge Topuria for the 155-pound gold. “El Matador” captured the title by knocking Charles Oliveira out in the first round. The UFC Lightweight Championship had been vacated after Islam Makhachev relinquished the gold. Makhachev will be challenging Jack Della Maddalena for the UFC Welterweight Championship at a date to be determined.
Tsarukyan believes the UFC will ultimately choose him to challenge Topuria next. “Akhalkalakets” is currently the No. 2-ranked UFC lightweight. Tsarukyan was initially set for a title fight against Makhachev back in January. He ended up pulling out of the fight mere hours before the weigh-ins due to a back issue. UFC CEO Dana White was none too pleased with Tsarukyan’s exit from the UFC 311 card, and claimed that he would not be getting a title opportunity next.
