Multiple top fighters engaged in heated exchanges with Arman Tsarukyan targeting Ilia Topuria, stating he wants to fight and throw him out of UFC, vowing to continue until he has at least five title defenses. Merab Dvalishvili clarified he has no issues with Dagestani fighters except Umar Nurmagomedov, emphasizing healthy competition among fighters from Armenia, Georgia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Topuria responded aggressively to Tsarukyan, calling him unintelligent and promising to break his jaw in the first round if they meet. Additional news includes Arman discussing a potential Volkanovski bout and Khamzat Chimaev's prospects, Demetrious Johnson predicting Chimaev over O'Malley, Benoit Saint-Denis announcing a Pimblett fight, and Bogdan Guskov declining a bout with Baraniewski.
Arman Tsarukyan has turned up the heat on lightweight contender Ilia Topuria, publicly declaring he wants to fight the Georgian-born Spaniard and, in his words, throw him out of the UFC. Tsarukyan went further, vowing to keep competing until he has accumulated at least five title defenses. The verbal clash is one of several heated exchanges to emerge from the top of the lightweight and bantamweight divisions in recent days.
Topuria, 29, holds a 17-1-0 record and is currently ranked second in the lightweight division while sitting atop the pound-for-pound rankings. Fighting out of Spain under the Climent Club banner, "El Matador" did not hold back in his response, calling Tsarukyan unintelligent and promising to break his jaw inside the first round if the two ever share the octagon. Topuria averages 4.81 significant strikes per minute and attempts 1.1 submissions per fifteen minutes, making him a threat in multiple phases.
Bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili also entered the conversation, clarifying that he has no beef with Dagestani fighters as a group but singled out Umar Nurmagomedov as the one exception. Nurmagomedov, ranked second at bantamweight and carrying a 20-1-0 record, is 30 years old and fights out of Eagles MMA in Russia. He lands 3.86 significant strikes per minute at a 56 percent accuracy rate and adds 4.03 takedowns per fifteen minutes, making him one of the division's most complete fighters. Dvalishvili framed the tension as healthy competitive rivalry between fighters representing Armenia, Georgia, Chechnya, and Dagestan.
Elsewhere, Tsarukyan also discussed a potential meeting with Alexander Volkanovski and weighed in on Khamzat Chimaev's prospects. Chimaev, the top-ranked middleweight and number ten pound-for-pound, owns a 15-1-0 record and leads the UFC in takedowns at 5.29 per fifteen minutes while striking at 60 percent accuracy. Demetrious Johnson added his voice to the Chimaev conversation, predicting "Borz" would defeat Sean O'Malley. Benoit Saint-Denis announced a fight against Paddy Pimblett, while Bogdan Guskov declined a proposed bout with Baraniewski.
Why it matters
- Tsarukyan versus Topuria would pit two of lightweight's most aggressive finishers against each other with title implications on the line
- Dvalishvili's callout of Umar Nurmagomedov adds a personal edge to what is already a stacked bantamweight contender picture
- Chimaev's name appearing across multiple conversations at middleweight and beyond signals how central he remains to title discussions at 185 pounds
