Tsarukyan knocks out Ruffy at UFC 331 and accuses Gaethje of dodging title fight

Arman Tsarukyan made his case for a lightweight title shot in emphatic fashion at UFC 331 in Los Angeles on Saturday, stopping Mauricio Ruffy by first-round knockout in the co-main event — then immediately turned his attention to champion Justin Gaethje, who watched the fight from cageside.

“He already knows his message; he’s fighting me next,” Tsarukyan told reporters at the post-fight press conference.

The Armenian contender is now riding a six-fight winning streak at lightweight and has been chasing a title shot for the better part of three years. He was originally scheduled to challenge former champion Islam Makhachev last year before a last-minute withdrawal and subsequent off-octagon incidents left him out of favour with the UFC. Saturday’s finish, he argued, was designed to remove any remaining doubt.

“Every fight is pressure for me,” Tsarukyan said. “I want to be UFC champion. This fight is important too, especially the finish and showing a great performance. When I’m going to talk to the UFC, the bosses are not going to say, ‘It was a boring decision, and you want to fight for the title.’ I knocked him out in the first round.”

Despite speaking with Dana White and UFC officials after the win, Tsarukyan expressed doubt that Gaethje would willingly accept the matchup, suggesting the champion has gone out of his way to avoid mentioning his name.

“Justin Gaethje, he never tells my name,” Tsarukyan said. “He’s scared. He wanted Ruffy to knock me out. It means he’s trying to avoid me, and he’s going to try to call out Ilia Topuria or tell the UFC, ‘I want $15 million for Arman Tsarukyan or I’m retired.’ He’s going to play around bullshit game.”

Tsarukyan said he would not be bothered if Gaethje chose retirement over the fight, insisting his priority is the title itself rather than the specific opponent. He also indicated he is ready to return quickly, citing no injuries and flagging a potential December return if a suitable card is available.

“I have no injuries. So I need one-week vacation, and then I can start training again,” he said. “Probably middle of December, end of December — if there is a big card, I’ll be ready.”

With three consecutive years of fighting for the number-one contender position, Tsarukyan made clear his patience has limits. “After this fight, hopefully I’m fighting for the title,” he said. “Either Gaethje fights me, or he gives the title opportunity to the young guys. We have a lot of contenders right now.”