Arman Tsarukyan stated he would like Dan Hooker to miss weight so he could fight Ilia Topuria instead, with the goal of 'kicking him out of the UFC.' Tsarukyan also declared he won't stop until he has at least five UFC title defenses. In related comments, Merab Dvalishvili said he has no problems with Dagestani fighters except Umar Nurmagomedov, whom he dislikes personally but respects the healthy competition among fighters from Armenia, Georgia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Topuria responded by calling Tsarukyan unintelligent and saying he would break his jaw in the first round if they fought. The post also mentions Benoit Saint-Denis posting an image of roast beef (an English dish) on social media, apparently announcing a fight with Paddy Pimblett, and that Bogdan Guskov declined a fight with someone named Baranyevsky.
Arman Tsarukyan has publicly called out lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, stating he hopes his scheduled opponent Dan Hooker misses weight so he can fight Topuria instead — with the explicit aim of "kicking him out of the UFC."
Tsarukyan added that his broader ambitions do not stop at a single title shot, declaring he will not rest until he has secured at least five UFC championship defenses. The Armenian contender's comments set off a swift back-and-forth, with Topuria responding by calling Tsarukyan unintelligent and promising to break his jaw in the first round if the two ever shared the octagon.
Topuria, ranked second in the lightweight division and first on the pound-for-pound list, carries a 17-1-0 record and is just 29 years old. The Spain-based Georgian finisher averages 4.81 significant strikes per minute and attempts 1.1 submissions per 15 minutes, making him dangerous in every phase of a fight.
Standing between Tsarukyan and that potential matchup is Dan Hooker, the 36-year-old New Zealander from City Kickboxing who is ranked fifth at lightweight with a 24-14-0 record. Hooker stands six feet tall with a 75-inch reach and lands 4.82 significant strikes per minute, making him one of the division's more active volume strikers.
Elsewhere in the Caucasus-region fighter chatter, bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili weighed in on regional rivalries, saying he has no issues with fighters from Dagestan, Armenia, or Chechnya — except for a personal dislike of Russia's Umar Nurmagomedov, whom he nonetheless acknowledged as healthy competition. Nurmagomedov, ranked second at bantamweight with a 20-1-0 record, shoots for takedowns at an elite rate of 4.03 per 15 minutes and connects on 56 percent of his significant strikes.
Why it matters
- A Tsarukyan-Topuria fight would be a title bout between the two highest-ranked lightweights, with massive divisional implications
- Topuria's pound-for-pound standing makes any challenger's call-out a marquee storyline
- Dvalishvili's comments hint at ongoing tensions within the stacked bantamweight division, where Nurmagomedov sits just one spot behind the title picture
