Tsarukyan tells Gaethje 'f*ck you' after new champion rejects truck gift

Arman Tsarukyan has told new UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje to expect a beating after Gaethje publicly rejected a truck Tsarukyan had arranged as a goodwill gesture — sparking an ugly exchange between two men widely expected to meet for the title.

The dispute traces back to Gaethje’s stunning fourth-round stoppage of Ilia Topuria at UFC White House, which earned a friend of Tsarukyan’s a reported $5.7 million return on a $1 million bet placed on the underdog Gaethje. In gratitude, Tsarukyan’s camp vowed to buy Gaethje a truck. Tsarukyan later said he had already spoken to Gaethje’s manager about specifications.

Gaethje, however, wanted no part of it. Appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience, he made his position clear. “I’m not taking this truck from fcking Arman,” Gaethje said. “There’s absolutely no way I would take a truck… I’m going to have to ride around in a fcking truck that a dude bought for me every day. I don’t know, I just can’t go there. We didn’t shake on it, he does not owe it to me.”

Tsarukyan’s response was swift and unambiguous. Speaking on a Kick stream with Nina Drama, he said he was blindsided by the rejection. “Yesterday, I watched the video and I was shocked, like what the fck, if you don’t want it, fck you,” Tsarukyan said. “I’m going to fck him up in the fight. I can’t wait. Say ‘thank you’ instead of being rude, like what the fck? I give you the truck, we bought the truck, you’re saying, ‘I’m not even going to drive it,’ why are you such an assh*le?”

Tsarukyan announced the truck would instead be given away to one of his fans.

The bad blood adds a personal edge to what was already a compelling matchup on paper. Tsarukyan enters as the division’s most credible contender, riding a five-fight win streak with only two losses in 12 UFC appearances — a debut defeat to future champion Islam Makhachev and a narrow split-decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot. He has been positioned as the No. 1 contender for roughly two years, with injuries and management disputes repeatedly delaying a title shot. During that period he has also competed regularly for freestyle wrestling promotion RAF.

Gaethje has indicated he expects Tsarukyan to be the opponent when he makes his first defence of the undisputed lightweight title, suggesting the truck saga may be just the opening chapter of a rivalry that is already personal before a fight has been signed.