Arman Tsarukyan targets Topuria fight, aims for five title defenses

Arman Tsarukyan has stated he wants Diego Lopes to miss weight so he can fight Ilia Topuria and "throw him out of the UFC," calling it his goal. The lightweight contender declared he will only stop when he has achieved at least five UFC title defenses. Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili clarified he has no issues with Dagestani fighters except Umar Nurmagomedov, stating he simply dislikes that particular fighter while emphasizing healthy competition among fighters from Armenia, Georgia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Topuria responded harshly to Tsarukyan's comments, calling him "incredibly stupid" and predicting he would break Tsarukyan's jaw in the first round if they fought. Additional brief updates mentioned Tsarukyan discussing a potential Volkanovski fight, Demetrious Johnson predicting Chimaev over O'Malley, Benoit Saint-Denis announcing a fight with Paddy Pimblett, and Bogdan Guskov declining a fight with an unnamed opponent.