Tsarukyan wants Gaethje to withdraw so he can fight and remove Topuria from UFC

Arman Tsarukyan stated he would like Justin Gaethje to withdraw from their scheduled bout so he could fight Ilia Topuria instead, with the goal of kicking Topuria out of the UFC. The Armenian lightweight also declared he won't stop until he has at least five UFC title defenses. Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili commented that he has no problems with Dagestani fighters except Umar Nurmagomedov, whom he dislikes, emphasizing healthy competition between fighters from Armenia, Georgia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Topuria, who updated his chest tattoo, fired back by calling Tsarukyan stupid and claiming he would break his jaw in the first round if they fought. Additional news included Benoit Saint-Denis potentially facing Paddy Pimblett and Bogdan Guskov declining a fight with Baranyevski.