Ilia Topuria has put together a legendary run in the last few fights, but he is still 'scared' branded by the old lightweight competition.
Last Saturday in the Main Event of UFC 317, Ilia Topuria successfully joined the Elites group to win a title in two weight classes when he struck Charles Oliveira unconscious in the first round.
Immediately after the fight, Topuria was confronted with his potential first title defense when Paddy Pimblett gave his way into the cage for a spontaneous face, which annoyed Dana White.
And after his incredible victory, Topuria has beaten first in the pound-for-pound rankings in the vicinity of Islam Makhachev of the number one ranking.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Arman Tsarukyan accuses Ilia Topuria of running him
Although 'El Matador' was confronted with 'The Baddy', it is unclear whether that is the fight that the UFC will explore below.
What is clear is that Dana White still does not like to give Arman Tsarukyan a lightweight title shot, despite the fact that he weighed like a backup for the main event.
Not only that, but immediately after the fight, Topuria claimed that he saw Tsarukyan's reaction to his Ko in the crowd and said that he looked 'scared', knowing that it could have been him.
And now a few days away from Topuria's title win, 'Ahalkalakets' has accused the Spaniard of running him, claiming that he is the one who is 'scared'.
“Running the real competition proves only one thing – you're scared.
Who will then fight Topuria?
At the moment it seems that White has closed every potential opponent for Topuria. Not only that, but UFC Middleweight Champion Dric Du Plessis may have accidentally leaked that Pimblett has been booked to combat Justin Gaethje in the Co-Main event of UFC 319.
Nevertheless, Gaethje recently claimed that if he does not get a title shot, he will withdraw from the sport.
His comments were not good at Dana who stated that he is retiring if he has already thought about it, which suggests that he will not get the next title shot.
And with that it is unclear in which direction the promotion will go with Topuria, but the 28-year-old has admitted that he would like to return to action before the end of the year.