The war of words between lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and top contender Arman Tsarukyan is heating up.
In a recent interview, Topriya criticized Chalukian’s headline-grabbing antics outside the cage. The 29-year-old bumped into a fan on his way to the Octagon, head-butted his opponent during a confrontation, got into a post-fight brawl at RAF 6, was thrown from a plane at last weekend’s RAF 8 and knocked MMA icon Urijah Faber off the stage.
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Topriya called Chalukyan a “stupid” and a “damn kid” for showing off his father’s wealth. Tsarukyan responded to Topuria’s comments on the Ariel Helwani Show on Wednesday.
“He was jealous,” Tsarukian said. “What he’s trying to say is, I’m nothing and if you offer him to me, he’s not going to accept it because he wants to tell everyone in the world that I’m not up to his level. That’s what he said [Charles] Oliveira is a great fighter [Justin] Gaethje is a good fighter, Max Holloway is a good fighter, but he didn’t say anything about me. How is that possible? It’s just a joke. “
“I mean, in my culture, where I come from, if you talk about someone, you have to explain why, right? You ask him why, and he doesn’t know how to answer why am I stupid or am I like a retiree or something,” Tsarukyan explained.
“If you say something, you have to answer why, right? You ask him why and he says I don’t know, so he’s the stupid guy, not me, because he doesn’t even know why I’m retarded or stupid.”
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Topuria will face two-time interim champion Justin Gaethje on June 14 at UFC White House. He predicted that if the two fought, he would break Charukian’s jaw in the first round. Tsarukyan hopes Topuria can prove that and signed to fight him following his unification bout with Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250.
“Good luck to him. We’ll see when the fight happens and we’ll see how I don’t knock him out. I can knock out anybody. So, on that note, he’s going to break my jaw. Whatever he wants to do, take the fight. If you’re so confident you can beat me easily in the first round, why are you hiding? Sign a contract after this fight and don’t move up and stay there to beat (me) because I’m an easy guy to fight. Why move? Get up,” Tsarukian said.
“He has his own fan base, but he acts like he’s untouchable, like he’s a superstar. But he’s not, and I’m bringing him back to Earth.”
Topriya accused Charukian of being a “Twitter mafia,” but when the two met, it was a different story.
“I’m not a gangster. I’m a man,” Tsarukian said. “But he’s not. He shaves his butt. He shaves his arms, his legs. At least I’m a man. I don’t do that.”
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