Ilia Topuria has teased all kinds of future plans since becoming champion, but none of them appear to include the one man the division keeps pushing toward him. Instead of recognizing Arman Tsarukyan as his rightful next challenge, ‘El Matador’ took a completely different approach, either chasing Islam Makhachev up a division or taking a detour at lightweight that caught everyone off guard.

When the video of Ilia Topuria declaring Paddy Pimblett as his preferred candidate popped up, Arman Tsarukyan did not try to disguise his feelings about it. ‘Ahalkalakets’ recognized the pattern immediately. He noticed the avoidance. And he saw an opportunity to say what many fans were already whispering.

Arman Tsarukyan calls out El Pato for ducking the title fight

While Ilia Topuria spoke in

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