Sean O'Malley: UFC will avoid booking Ilia Topuria vs. Arman Tsarukyan

Sean O'Malley sees Arman Tsarukyan as a threat to Ilia Topuria's title reign.

Tsarukyan ran through Dan Hooker for a second-round submission in Saturday's UFC Fight Night 265 headliner in Qatar. He called out UFC lightweight champion Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC), but Tsarukyan is currently in the title race with Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje.

Former UFC bantamweight champion O'Malley thinks the UFC giving Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) the shot would be risky business.

"Arman is no f*cking joke," O'Malley said on his YouTube channel. "Arman vs. Ilia is an interesting matchup. I do not think the UFC will make Arman vs. Ilia because I think they love Ilia as a champion. He's a great champion, and I don't think they really want Arman to become champion. He has a f*cking legitimate chance of beating Ilia. Can't believe I said it. I think Ilia might knock him out, but if anyone has a chance at beating Ilia at 155, it's Arman."

Tsarukyan was lined up for a lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 in January, but withdrew the day before due to injury. The 29-year-old is on a five-fight winning streak.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Why Sean O'Malley doubts UFC books Ilia Topuria vs. Arman Tsarukyan