Paddy Pimblett’s top ten ranking in the UFC’s lightweight division is fugazi, according to the former number one contender Arman Tsarukyan.
Former Cage Warriors champion Pimblett is a perfect 7-0 in the UFC (22-3 overall) since making his debut for the organisation in September 2021, and scored a career-best win in April when he earned a third round TKO finish of Michael Chandler to insert himself into title talk for Ilia Topuria’s 155-pound crown.
One man who appears to have been, temporarily at least, overlooked for a shot at the title is Arman Tsarukyan, the Armenian who is seeking a return to the UFC’s good graces after withdrawing at the eleventh hour from a scheduled world championship bout with then-champ Islam Makhachev.
Pimblett’s own title aspiration have been buoyed by a baked-in rivalry with Topuria stemming from their run-in at a fighter hotel in the UK ahead of a UFC event several years ago.
But according to Tsarukyan, Pimblett has achieved nothing of significance in his UFC tenure thus far.
“You’ve got to delete him from the rankings,” he said of Pimblett to the Overdogs Podcast, as noted by MMA Fighting.
“He’s not even deserving to be in top 10. He beat the last three guys, it was [Michael] Chandler, he had three losses. It was Bobby Green, he had three or four losses. It was Tony Ferguson, he had eight losses.
“That’s crazy and you want to bring that guy to fight for the title? You shouldn’t even mention his name, he doesn’t even deserve even mentioning his name.”
Tsarukyan added that he expects the next lightweight challenger to come from a list of himself, Pimblett or Justin Gaethje – but failing that, he said he will take on whoever the UFC places in front of him as he works back to title contention.
“I mean, if it’s not a title fight, it’s probably Gaethje or Pimblett or Hooker,” Tsarukyan said. “I don’t know.”
“If it’s Gaethje, it’s a good fight,” he added. “He’s a good striker, but he used to be a wrestler, so now he strikes more. It’s a good fight for me. All of them are good fights for me, so it’s easy money.”
