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The lightweight division is red hot. Islam Makhachev has vacated the belt to move up to welterweight, Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira will fight for the title on June 28 at UFC 317, and there are a host of contenders waiting for their chance to try to take the throne. Two of them are Arman Tsarukyan and Paddy Pimblett, who have recently had a fierce exchange of words through social networks due to some words from the English fighter that did not please the Armenian at all, and have led to a heated discussion.
"Tsarukyan is a complete nobody, and then there's Gaethje and me. Nobody cares about Arman," Pimblett told the BBC. 'The Baddy' is interested in facing Gaethje after the summer, as if he beats him, he believes he should be the next challenger for the belt. Justin has more media pull than Tsarukyan, and his style better suits the Englishman's qualities, which is why he would prefer to face him rather than the division's number one.
Tsarukyan is a complete bum, and then there's Gaethje and me
Arman echoed these statements, and did not hesitate to respond through his 'X' . "It was obvious that you were talking trash without any intention of backing it up. Your career in the UFC is based on gifts, hype and shortcuts to the top," he said. Tsarukyan was going to face Makhachev in January, but a back injury just hours before the fight forced him to cancel it. Dana White and the UFC made a cross against him after that incident, and now the Armenian is trying to regain the company's trust with another victory.
Paddy doesn't hold back
As expected, Pimblett did not remain silent, and hit back with an even more ruthless attack than the previous one. "A rich kid talking about gifts. Daddy's given you everything on a silver platter your whole life. I never said I wouldn't fight you, it's just that nobody cares about you after you retired to Islam because of a 'back injury'. We all know you were menstruating, sausage," replied the Englishman.
Paddy is interested in other opponents better viewed by the company in order to earn the title fight, and it is clear that Gaethje is his favorite rival for this to happen. Despite his feud with the Armenian fighter, it does not seem that they will face each other in the short term, especially considering the UFC's "punishment" of Arman, who will surely have to fight a lower-profile opponent before entering the title conversation again