BUZZ Tsarukyan says UFC promised title shot and accuses Gaethje of ducking him

Arman Tsarukyan has a deadline for his first UFC title shot but no opponent. He says the UFC told him it will let him know at the end of November, and he thinks champion Justin Gaethje is the reason for the wait.

Speaking to Helen Yee Sports before his RAF 14 match with Dillon Danis, Tsarukyan put it bluntly: either the UFC pays Gaethje enough to fight, or he retires. Gaethje won the undisputed title by stopping Ilia Topuria in June and is recovering from injury, with a return targeted for 2027 and no opponent set. He has said "the end is near" but has not announced a retirement. According to Sherdog, Tsarukyan also believes Gaethje is holding out for a massive payday and that his asking price is a way to avoid a stylistic problem on the ground. Gaethje has not responded.

Tsarukyan, 30, is not short on alternatives. Alexander Volkanovski, the 38-year-old featherweight champion, stopped Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 and said he would retire, win or lose, for a fight with Gaethje. Asked about fighting him at lightweight, Tsarukyan called it a good stylistic matchup and said Volkanovski is a tough opponent but "a little bit old now." Volkanovski has said nothing about facing Tsarukyan instead of Gaethje, and the UFC has booked neither fight.

If the belt is vacated, Tsarukyan named Paddy Pimblett, Topuria or the winner of Charles Oliveira against Diego Lopes as fights he would take, saying all are on a similar level. Topuria is ranked above him in the official lightweight rankings, according to MMA Mania, which makes the order of any title picture uncertain.

Tsarukyan arrives on a run. He knocked out Mauricio Ruffy with a first-round elbow at UFC 331 in September, then won the RAF crossover title over Danis. His next scheduled fight is not a UFC one: Anthony Pettis is booked to challenge him for that RAF title at RAF 15 on Nov. 28, and a catchweight match with Neiman Gracie is set for RAF Abu Dhabi on Nov. 14.

Watch for the UFC's call on Gaethje at the end of November. It decides whether Tsarukyan gets a champion, a Volkanovski retirement-fight detour or a vacant-title bout.