'What do they want from me?': Arman Tsarukyan says he must be next for 'fake' Ilia Topuria

Arman Tsarukyan may be the most well-rounded lightweight in the world today — and after another dominant showing, he’s pushing harder than ever for his long-awaited title opportunity.

Heading into this past weekend, Tsarukyan hadn’t competed in 18 months. His last appearance — a split decision over former champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 — was the breakthrough he needed, earning him a January title shot in a rematch against Islam Makhachev. But a last-minute injury forced him out of the Makhachev bout, resetting his path and requiring at least one more win to stay in contention.

He delivered exactly that at UFC Qatar against Dan Hooker.

"My hard work, all exercises, everything helped me a lot for my wrestling, for my grappling," Tsarukyan said on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" following his win. "For that fight [against Hooker], I couldn't show how I prepared my upkick. I would like to throw my upkick, but I didn't show because I wanted to throw the kicks in the last rounds when he got tired, but I choked him out [instead].

"For Ilia [Topuria], I don't even need flexibility to throw that upkick. He's too short."

Tsarukyan controlled seasoned veteran Hooker before locking up a second-round arm-triangle choke, a reminder of the suffocating grappling and steady improvements that have made him a perennial title threat.

With Topuria now sitting atop the lightweight division as UFC champion, a rivalry between Tsarukyan and Topuria has begun to develop — both on-camera and behind the scenes. Tsarukyan recalled their first notable interaction this past June when he served as the backup fighter for Topuria’s scheduled title bout with Oliveira. The exchange, he said, played out far differently than Topuria has publicly suggested.

"He is such a bulls***ter. He just came and hugged me, and now he’s saying it was a slap," Tsarukyan said. "If it was a slap, I am not man anymore. If he slapped me, why am I laughing? What are you talking about? I could kill him there right away.

"For us, if someone slap you and you didn’t do anything, you’re not man — you’re bulls***. You’re zero in this life. You've got to forget about if you're a UFC fighter, or working, you can get to the jail. You've got to slap it back, and just — I don’t even want to talk about that b****."

Tsarukyan said the tension shifted after that from a simple greeting to Topuria taking verbal jabs.

"He started talking s*** after that," Tsarukyan said. "Like, bro, you're such a fake guy. In person, you're acting like a good friend, like a good guy in person. And then on Twitter, you start talking s***.

"I’m not fake like you. ... If I want to say something to you, I'll say the same thing."

Having earned five straight wins since his controversial loss to Mateusz Gamrot, Tsarukyan believes he's done everything required of a No. 1 contender. The UFC's own rankings continue to reflect that.

Still, English fan favorite Paddy Pimblett — who shares a heated personal history with Topuria — has created uncertainty with his own calls for a title shot.

"It's 100% gotta be me," Tsarukyan said. "No way they can give Paddy Pimblett [the] fight. Everybody's going to laugh at them because I'm No. 1 contender. I proved it again, and what do they want from me? I want to perform, destroy Dan Hooker, and they want to put the guy who is fake, making rank?"

Pimblett’s rise has prompted its own debate regarding where exactly the Liverpudlian fits within the lightweight pecking order. After stopping one-time title challenger Michael Chandler earlier this year, Pimblett cracked the top 10 and then climbed to No. 5 in UFC's latest rankings update — despite not fighting since.

For Tsarukyan, the math doesn’t add up.

"How you can beat a No. 12 or No. 13 and became No. 5? I was beating everybody in our division," Tsarukyan said. "I was on a five- or six-win streak to get top 15. This guy just beat six people and he's No. 5.

"Hopefully, it's a title fight next. It has to be me, whatever they want to do. Their plan maybe was [that] I'm going to struggle with Dan Hooker and they could push me to the back. ... But now they cannot say anything because [the] No. 1 contender is here. I showed up in Qatar to show everybody a masterclass. It's supposed to be me."