Demetrious Johnson: Arman Tsarukyan ‘rightful person’ to challenge Ilia Topuria next

Paddy Pimblett entered the octagon at UFC 317 to face off with newly-crowned lightweight champion Ilia Topuria moments after the Spanish star demolished Charles Oliveira in Las Vegas, and MMA legend Demetrious Johnson is not a fan of that match-up.

Even though UFC CEO Dana White said that face-off “shouldn’t have happened”, not confirming that Pimblett is receiving the next shot at the belt, Johnson feels that considering that move instead of awarding No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan the opportunity is against meritocracy.

“It needs to be him, Arman Tsarukyan,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “This is why I say [UIFC] it’s a reality TV show. It’s like, obviously Arman Tsarukyan is the number one contender. He’s ranked number one.”

Tsarukyan defeated Oliveira via split decision in his most recent appearance in April 2024 but was forced out of a title fight with Islam Makhachev hours before the weigh-ins in January due to health issues. He was the backup fighter at UFC 317 and made weight this past Friday, but White wouldn’t confirm him as next man in line.

“Whatever you guys wanna go by the rankings,” Johnson said, “but they’re force in this fight with Paddy Pimblett versus Ilia Topuria just because it’s probably gonna sell more. But I think the rightful person who should be getting the next title shot at lightweight is Arman Tsarukyan.”

Johnson predicted that Topuria would beat Oliveira based on their fighting styles, and was impressed to see the former featherweight champion clinch second belt with the third straight knockout over a legend, stopping “do Bronx” after shutting out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway.

The future seems bright for Topuria, but Johnson doesn’t expect his career to be as long as his recent rivals’.

“Ilia is going to be a guy that fights who fights three or four more times and retires,” Johnson said.