Arman Tsarukyan Is an a Great Position to Possibly Fight for the Title Next

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Arman Tsarukyan of Armenia prepares to fight Mauricio Ruffy of Brazil prior to his lightweight bout during UFC 331: Van v Pantoja 2 at Crypto.com Arena on September 19, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Arman Tsarukyan of Armenia prepares to fight Mauricio Ruffy of Brazil prior to his lightweight bout during UFC 331: Van v Pantoja 2 at Crypto.com Arena on September 19, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) Getty

Arman Tsarukyan got the job done earlier tonight in Los Angeles. The top contender in the UFC lightweight division knocked out Mauricio Ruffy in their scheduled lightweight bout during the co-main event of UFC 331 at the Crypto.com Arena.

The win put Tsarukyan in a great position to be next for champion Justin Gaethje. Dana White gave his opinion on the fight during the press conference afterwards.

Not Fully Committing

“Arman has made mistakes, but he made up for them. And look at the position he is in right now after tonight. Arman has completely flipped everything around after all the things he had done wrong. And he could not be in a better position than he is in right now,” White said.

The UFC President did not want to fully commit, saying Tsarukyan is next for the title. He mentioned that he also has to talk to champion Justin Gaethje about his return.

“I don’t know yet. We will see. We don’t know what Gaethje is thinking yet. He was here tonight. He saw the fight; we will see where his head is at,” White said.

Other Options

With the victory, Tsarukyan has now won six fights in a row. Since he pulled out of the fight for the title against Islam Makhachev in 2025, Tsarukyan has beaten Dan Hooker and, earlier tonight, Mauricio Ruffy. Tsarukyan is now in an amazing spot to fight for the title next, but there are also other options for the UFC.

A rematch between champion Gaethje and former champion Ilia Topuria is also on the table. Dana White said he hasn’t made up his mind yet about it, but the rematch between the two fighters might be more interesting for the UFC. Obviously, we have to wait to see what is going to happen. Tsarukyan might have earned his shot, but as White has said many times, it is the fight business. Anything can happen at any moment.

 

 

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