Cormier insists Tsarukyan is undeniable choice to face Gaethje for UFC lightweight title

Daniel Cormier has declared that Arman Tsarukyan must be next in line for Justin Gaethje’s UFC lightweight title, arguing that the Armenian contender’s form, activity, and growing fanbase have made him impossible for the promotion to ignore.

The call comes in the wake of Gaethje’s stunning upset of Ilia Topuria at UFC White House, where the American claimed the lightweight belt and immediately scrambled the division’s contender picture. With Topuria’s expected move to welterweight now on hold and a rematch seemingly off the table — Gaethje told Joe Rogan he felt he “broke” Topuria twice during the fight and that the Georgian “wanted to quit” — the question of who fights Gaethje next has become the most pressing in the division.

For Cormier, the answer is straightforward. “If it isn’t going to be Ilia Topuria, it has to be Arman Tsarukyan,” the former two-division champion said on his YouTube channel. “I was talking to Dana White when I was at The Ultimate Fighter, and we were speaking about how Arman has essentially made himself undeniable. One, because obviously he’s won so many fights in a row, but his side quests — wrestling in RAF, boxing when he can, grappling when he can. He’s been so active that the UFC can’t ignore that, and the UFC honestly took note of it.”

Cormier added that White and the promotion are “kind of excited” about Tsarukyan and the new audience he has attracted, noting that an interview he conducted with the fighter became his most-watched YouTube video.

Tsarukyan enters the conversation on a five-fight winning streak that includes a victory over former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira — the very man also lobbying for a shot at Gaethje. Oliveira, who holds the BMF title, has argued that a fight with Gaethje would unify two belts and offer the champion a chance at revenge, having lost to “Do Bronx” at UFC 274.

Cormier acknowledged Oliveira’s credentials but dismissed his case. “I get what Do Bronx is saying. He’s the BMF champ. He feels like he beat Max Holloway, he beat Mateusz Gamrot, and he did it in amazing fashion. But I just don’t know if those victories would warrant you jumping Arman Tsarukyan.”

“I think people are ready to watch Arman fight for the belt, and rightfully so,” Cormier concluded. “Love Charles, love that he’s making a statement, but the reality is, it has to be Arman Tsarukyan.”