Justin Gaethje is still awaiting his first assignment as undisputed UFC lightweight champion but the contenders are starting to stack up with hopes of getting the first shot at him when he’s ready to compete again in 2027.
One of the most popular choices is Arman Tsarukyan, who is set to face Mauricio Ruffy in a pivotal lightweight fight taking place at UFC 331 in Los Angeles on Sept. 19. While most believe that Tsarukyan already did enough to get that shot at gold, Gaethje argues that the 29-year-old contender has no one to blame but himself for being stuck on the outside looking in when it comes to a UFC championship.
Tsarukyan was scheduled to battle for the belt at the start of 2025 when he got matched up with then champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 331. Sadly, disaster struck just days away from the fight with Tsarukyan suffered a back injury and he was pulled off the event and replaced by Renato Moicano.
But Gaethje doesn’t buy that story and that’s why he believes Tsarukyan has been stuck as the odd man out when it comes to the lightweight title.
“We all make our own bed,” Gaethje told Demetrious Johnson on his podcast. “He was going to fight Islam Makhachev for the belt. The truth is he wasn’t going to make weight so he dropped out. If it was his back and there was a medical report on paper with the UFC, then he wouldn’t be suffering like this.
“There’s no way if he was truly to hurt his back cutting weight, how the f*ck do you do that for one. Maybe his body was shutting down and he just couldn’t make weight, which happens.”
That said, Gaethje expects Tsarukyan to get a win in his upcoming fight at UFC 331 to potentially position him yet again for a shot at the belt.
“Most likely, Arman’s going to take him down,” Gaethje said. “I hope Arman gets hit hard. It would be fun to see. I don’t hate Arman. I’d rather him get hit hard than get on top of [Ruffy] and win.”
