Arman Tsarukyan is the only challenge Daniel Cormier wants to see for UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria.
Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) ran through Dan Hooker for a second-round submission Saturday at UFC Fight Night 265 in Qatar. All signs appeared to point toward Paddy Pimblett getting the next shot at Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC), but Cormier isn't sure anymore.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt was Pimblett (22-4 MMA, 7-0 UFC) who got to face off with Topuria after UFC 317 in June, but Cormier can't ignore Tsarukyan's well rounded skill set and the threat he could pose to the champion.
"I think Paddy Pimblett's fun, I think Paddy Pimblett has a bright future in fighting, but I believe that the two best lightweights in the world, if Islam Makhachev is now the welterweight champion, are Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria, and that's not even a question anymore," Cormier said on his "Good Guy/Bad Guy" show with Chael Sonnen. "I thought that Paddy Pimblett getting into the octagon after Ilia won the belt, to me, was a little bit odd because I didn't feel like him beating Michael Chandler should have warranted him being in that spot.
"I thought that the biggest issue would be trying to do away with the images of Paddy in the cage with Ilia after he became the champion, but then when you watch Arman Tsarukyan last weekend – bro, he's big, he's strong, he can really wrestle, he can strike. He can do just about everything, and his top control is what's a real issue, and I believe that's the problem. That's the scary thought for anyone that are Ilia Topuria fans because if there's anyone that can replicate that game of Makhachev, or at least to a degree, it's Arman Tsarukyan."
Topuria remains more interested in fighting Pimblett instead of Tsarukyan. His No. 1 option is moving up to chase a third UFC belt against newly crowned welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Cormier: Arman Tsarukyan is Ilia Topuria's biggest threat
AdvertisementAdvertisement
