Arman Tsarukyan targets Topuria, says he wants minimum five title defenses

Arman Tsarukyan has stated he would like Dustin Poirier to withdraw from his scheduled fight so he could face Ilia Topuria and "kick him out of the UFC." The lightweight contender declared he will only stop when he has at least five UFC title defenses. Merab Dvalishvili stated he has no problems with Dagestani fighters except Umar Nurmagomedov, whom he simply dislikes, while emphasizing healthy competition among fighters from Armenia, Georgia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Ilia Topuria, who recently updated his chest tattoo, responded to Tsarukyan with harsh words, calling him unintelligent and claiming he would break his jaw in the first round if they fought. Additional news includes Tsarukyan discussing a potential bout with Volkanovski, Demetrius Johnson predicting Chimaev's victory over O'Malley, Benoit Saint-Denis announcing a fight with Paddy Pimblett via social media, and Bogdan Guskov declining a bout with Baranievski.