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Arman Tsarukyan says Justin Gaethje is scared to fight him: ‘He’s trying to avoid me’

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Arman Tsarukyan says Justin Gaethje is scared to fight him: ‘He’s trying to avoid me’

Arman Tsarukyan has a message for Justin Gaethje: I'm next.

On Saturday night, Tsarukyan scored arguably the biggest win of his career, knocking out Mauricio Ruffy in the co-main event of UFC 331 in Los Angeles. Viewed by many as a title eliminator bout, lightweight champion Justin Gaethje sat cageside for the fight, and kicking off his post-fight press conference afterward, Tsarukyan had a simple message for the champ.

“He already knows his message; he's fighting me next,†Tsarukyan told reporters.

Tsarukyan is currently on a six-fight win streak at lightweight and was supposed to challenge Islam Makhachev for the title last year, but a last-minute withdrawal from the event, plus other incidents, put Tsarukyan in the doghouse with the UFC. As such, Tsarukyan felt extra pressure to deliver on Saturday to ensure his title shot, and he believes he did just that.

“Every fight is pressure for me,†Tsarukyan said. “It's not a joke because I want to be UFC champion. Every fight for me is so important. This fight is important too, especially finish and show the great performance. When I'm going to talk to UFC, the bosses are not going to say, ‘It was a boring decision, and you want to fight for the title.' I knocked him out in the first round, and they can see the crowd, people, and my ability in the cage. …

“I've been waiting a long time,†Tsarukyan added later. “I need a title fight, and today I proved it again. This is the third time I'm fighting for the No. 1 contender, and third year. After this fight, hopefully I'm fighting for the title.â€

Tsarukyan certainly believes he will be, saying he spoke with Dana White and the UFC after the win. But whether or not he'll be fighting Gaethje is another question entirely, and one that Tsarukyan isn't sure he knows the answer to because he believes Gaethje has no interest in fighting him.

“Justin Gaethje, he never tells my name,†Tsarukyan said. “He's scared. He wanted Ruffy to knock me out. It means he's trying to avoid me, and he's going to try to call out Ilia Topuria or tell [the UFC], ‘I want $15 million for Arman Tsarukyan or I'm retired.' He's going to play around bullshit game.

“But UFC — either he's going to fight me, or he's going to give the title opportunity for the young guys. We have a lot of contenders right now.â€

Tsarukyan added that if Gaethje does opt to retire instead of fighting him, he wouldn't be upset by that; he simply wants his opportunity to become champion. And when it comes to that, he's not fussy. Tsarukyan says he'll be ready whenever the UFC wants.

“I have no injuries. So I need one-week vacation, and then I can start training again,†Tsarukyan said when asked about when he'd like to fight for the title. “Probably middle of December, end of December. If there is a big card at end of December or middle December, so I'll be ready. Right now, I can't [say] ‘I want to fight in two months, I want to fight in three months.' Whatever they tell me, I'll be there.â€

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Jon Jones reacts to Gable Steveson’s brutal KO loss at UFC 331

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Jon Jones reacts to Gable Steveson’s brutal KO loss at UFC 331

Former UFC star Jon Jones' reaction to Gable Steveson's defeat at UFC 331 was caught on camera last night.

Last night at UFC 331, Gable Steveson's world came crashing down. He was knocked out cold by Sean Sharaf in a matter of seconds, which came at the end of a heated week in which Sharaf really went after Steveson in the build-up to the fight.

RELATED: Gable Steveson believes Jon Jones could return to the UFC heavyweight division

Gable Steveson simply couldn't deal with the pressure being put on him in the early stages of the bout and as a result of that, he now has to go back to the drawing board and see what exactly went wrong as he tries to bounce back into heavyweight contention.

In a video released shortly after the knockout, Gable Steveson's mentor Jon Jones has been seen reacting to what went down in California.

Jones' reaction to Gable Steveson defeat

As you can imagine, Jon Jones wasn't happy with what he saw at UFC 331. In fact, he was pretty shocked, and that makes sense given the amount of hype that has been surrounding Steveson ever since he entered the UFC. it was a brutal moment for his entire team, and it will be interesting to see how he's able to bounce back from it.

For Jones himself, there are already questions about whether or not he will come back to try and ‘save the day' for the UFC's heavyweight division. He has certainly been inconsistent with his messaging to the fans and the promotion, but given where things are at right now, he may provide the exact kind of star power they so desperately need up there.

What do you believe the future holds for Steveson? Can he still go on to become a world champion in the UFC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Dana White adds $50K to Sean Sharaf’s bonus for shocking UFC 331 upset

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Dana White adds $50K to Sean Sharaf’s bonus for shocking UFC 331 upset
Dana
White added $50k of his own to the UFC
331 bonuses.

The latest numbered event went down at Crypto.com Arena on Sept. 19
in Los Angeles. The main event earned Fight of the Night honors,
with Joshua Van
defending his flyweight title in a rematch against Alexandre
Pantoja. A special performance bonus in collaboration with the
Paramount+ series “MobLand†was also on deck.

Sean Sharaf knocked out Gable Steveson in just 12 seconds at
UFC 331

Both Van and Pantoja earned $100k each for their instant classic.
Arman
Tsarukyan earned a $100k Performance of the Night bonus for
knocking out Mauricio
Ruffy in the co-main event. Tsarukyan ate an early right hand
from Ruffy that left him visibly damaged. He then caught Ruffy in a
clinch and put him to sleep with two elbows on the break.

Casey
O'Neill (12-2) earned the other $100k POTN bonus for her
submission win over Eduarda
Moura on the prelims. Moura caught an early kick from O'Neill
and took her down. However, O'Neill maintained composure and
suddenly caught Moura in an armbar while flipping her over.

Sean
Sharaf earned a special $50k bonus from the
Ultimate Fighting Championship's broadcast partner Paramount+,
as part of the promotion for the new season of “MobLand,†for his
upset win over Gable
Steveson. The ex-United States Marine put Steveson to sleep
with a left hook in just 12 seconds in a monumental upset. White
added $50k of his own to Sharaf's bonus.

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Patricio ‘Pitbull’ makes violent case for new UFC deal with Round 1 KO

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Patricio ‘Pitbull’ makes violent case for new UFC deal with Round 1 KO
Patricio
“Pitbull†Freire delivered a statement win in a bid to extend
his stay in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Freire took on Doo Ho Choi
(17-5) in a featherweight tilt at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. This being
the last fight of his contract, Freire repeatedly stated his desire
to continue fighting in the UFC and promised to put on a
performance worthy of a contract renewal.

Patricio Freire knocks out Doo Ho Choi at UFC 331 before
calling out Jean Silva

Freire backed up his promise, dropping Choi with a monstrous right
hand to earn a first-round finish. Having had a lukewarm UFC career
before UFC 331, the former Bellator
champ apologized to fans and called out Jean Silva,
who is known for barking at his opponents, to determine the bigger
dog amongst the two.

“I'm sorry about my last three fights,†Freire said in his
post-fight interview. “I feel that [UFC 331] was my debut. I don't
know what happened to me. But I'm so happy… The pressure here is
bigger [than Bellator]. But now I feel comfortable… Jean Silva,
let's see who is the dog.â€

Freire (38-9) previously lost to Yair
Rodriguez and Aaron Pico
in the UFC, while edging a lackluster unanimous decision against
Dan
Ige. Meanwhile, Silva (18-3) has finished five of his six UFC
wins, while only losing to two-time title challenger Diego
Lopes. “Lord†beat Jose
Delgado at
Noche UFC 4 earlier this month.

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