Pimblett concedes Tsarukyan's UFC 331 knockout was 'lovely' but insists 'I'd still punch his head in'

Paddy Pimblett grudgingly acknowledged Arman Tsarukyan’s stoppage of Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 in Los Angeles on Saturday, calling the finishing elbow “lovely” and “naughty” — before quickly adding that the performance exposed weaknesses he believes he could exploit.

Tsarukyan ended the co-main event with a short elbow in the clinch, delivering what many observers called one of the best finishes of his career. For Pimblett, a long-standing critic of the Armenian lightweight, the praise came with immediate caveats.

“That was lovely. That was lovely, Arman,” Pimblett said on his YouTube channel. “That was a nasty elbow, lad. Gotta give him his due. As much as I don’t like him, that was a naughty elbow.”

The compliments did not last long. Pimblett argued that Tsarukyan had struggled for most of the round and that the elbow masked a troubled performance, particularly on the wrestling front.

“I thought he looked pretty shit up until the point of the elbow,” Pimblett said. “His eye’s messed up already. I wish he never landed that, just to see how the second and third would have went. Everyone goes on like Arman’s got the best wrestling in the UFC, and he showed there that he hasn’t whatsoever. I’d still punch his head in, though.”

Pimblett and Tsarukyan have been locked in a simmering rivalry for years, largely driven by their competing claims on a UFC lightweight title shot. Despite the bad blood, the two have never met inside the octagon, and Pimblett suggested that may remain the case for now given Tsarukyan’s apparent position as the division’s next contender.

He was also sceptical about how much weight the win should carry in the title conversation, pointing out that Ruffy was ranked seventh at the time and that Tsarukyan’s previous notable victory — over Dan Hooker — came against a fighter who has since slipped down the rankings.

“Obviously, Arman just put himself forward to be the No. 1 contender there, but at the same time, he did only beat rank 7,” Pimblett said. “His last win before that was Dan Hooker, who was rank 6 and now about rank 13. He’s lost another two or three fights since then. We’ll see what happens.”

Pimblett also weighed in on the wider lightweight title picture, referencing the ongoing dispute between champion Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria, and suggested a rematch between the two could yet complicate Tsarukyan’s route to a title shot. He dismissed Topuria’s post-fight claims about Gaethje’s gloves, calling the Georgian fighter “a sore loser.”