Paddy Pimblett’s victory against Michael Chandler at UFC 314 has put him on the radar of several lightweight contenders, including Arman Tsarukyan. The Armenian fighter is searching for methods to return to the lightweight title scenario. Still, Tsarukyan rated the No. 7-ranked Pimblett as a worthy rival for himself.
The 28-year-old also presented several reasons for his openness to fighting Pimblett. One of them might raise a few fans’ eyebrows.
Arman Tsarukyan Wants To Fight Paddy Pimblett To Boost His Fanbase in the UK
After Pimblett’s lackluster performance against Jared Gordon at UFC 282, several fans questioned whether he deserved the enormous push he was receiving from the UFC. However, ‘The Baddy’ provided them with a befitting reply by winning his two subsequent encounters against two seasoned lightweights, Tony Ferguson and King Green.
Pimblett’s convincing victory over Chandler at UFC 314 helped him improve his reputation in the community even further, with several naysayers turning into his fans. On account of this triumph, ‘The Baddy’ also bagged the No. 7 spot in UFC’s official lightweight rankings, inching closer to his goal of fighting for the divisional title.
Pimblett expressed his desire to lock horns with any of the current top-five lightweights next during his UFC 314 octagon interview with Joe Rogan. The Liverpudlian also made a special mention of Tsarukyan during the same, with a few deriding remarks.
A recent Instagram post from @redcorner.mma displayed ‘Ahalkalakets’s’ response for Pimblett’s callout. Tsarukyan appreciated Pimblett’s performance against Chandler, besides revealing that he would be open to fighting him.
“He [Pimblett] looked very good in his last fight. Now we can say that he can beat [stand with] the top 10 fighters [lightweights],” said Tsarukyan. He also mentioned, “Yeah, I’ll take that [fight against Pimblett.]”
The top-ranked lightweight contender also presented a plethora of reasons behind his acceptance to fight Pimblett. Tsarukyan said, “I’ll take the fight because he has a big name, and he has [is on] a six or seven-fight win streak. He has never lost in the UFC, [so], it makes sense.”
However, he refrained from revealing the most interesting reason for fighting Pimblett in the beginning. Tsarukyan finally disclosed that he would accept the offer “to get more fans from [the] UK.”
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It’s pertinent to note that Tsarukyan refrained from hurling insults at Pimblett despite the Liverpudlian’s deriding remarks for him. ‘Ahalkalakets’ probably wants to answer Pimblett’s comments with his hands and feet inside the Octagon, instead of bad-mouthing him during his interviews.