PADDY PIMBLETT’s crack at interim UFC gold is all part of a master plan from the promotion, Arman Tsarukyan has claimed.
‘The Baddy’ will lock horns with fan favourite Justin Gaethje for the interim 155lbs title in the main event of UFC 324 in Las Vegas on January 24.
The interim belt was brought into play following undisputed champion Ilia Topuria’s announcement that personal issues will keep him out of the cage in the first quarter of 2026.
But the No.1-ranked Tsarukyan, who many believe should’ve been in the interim fight, isn’t buying what Topuria or the UFC brass are selling.
The Armenian told ESPN: “I think this is UFC game plan, it’s not family issues.”
Tsarukyan reckons the UFC are further trying to build Pimblett as a star before his long-overdue grudge match with Topuria.
He continued: “They want to make Paddy Pimblett a star and to bring him to fight for the title with Topuria as a bigger name.
“And make it like a big fight. Kind of like Khabib [Nurmagomedov] vs Conor [McGregor].
“But they’re not [going to be as big as Khabib vs Conor] even if he’s got the belt.”
Scores of MMA fans voiced their shock and dismay at Tsarukyan not being one-half of next month’s interim title fight on social media.
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But the 29-year-old understands the method to the UFC’s madness, saying: “It’s a business.
“At the end of the day, I have the same goal. Everybody knows that I will beat everybody and it’s just [a matter of] time.”
Pimblett will look to become only the fourth Brit to win a title in MMA’s top promotion when he takes on Gaethje.
He said of the criticism of his maiden title fight: “People are gonna say, ‘Oh, it’s only the interim’ and this and that.
“But I’m fighting for the world title. People said I’d never be ranked.
“People say I’d never do this, never do that. And the goalposts always get moved for me [all the time], it’s just normal.
“Once I finish Gaethje, it’s gonna be, ‘Oh, he was 37, he was retiring anyway, he’s on his way out, he’s being handed title shots’. All this bulls**t.”
