Paddy Pimblett Tips His Cap to Arman Tsarukyan — Then Takes It Back

Arman Tsarukyan turned in one of the best nights of his career at UFC 331 in Los Angeles, folding Mauricio Ruffy with a first-round elbow in the co-main event. It was clean enough that even his loudest critic couldn't pretend not to notice. Paddy Pimblett, who has needled Tsarukyan for years, called the finishing elbow nasty and gave the No. 2-ranked lightweight (24-3, 10 KO, 6 SUB) his due on YouTube.

The praise lasted about a sentence. Pimblett then argued Tsarukyan looked poor before the stoppage, pointing to a swollen eye from a single right hand and questioning whether the Armenian's grappling is what everyone says it is. His read: this was a highlight-reel finish that papered over some cracks.

Where Paddy Sees Holes

Pimblett's specific gripe was the wrestling. He noted Tsarukyan couldn't get Ruffy down and kept hunting takedowns — against a fighter who, in Pimblett's telling, hasn't historically defended them well. He said he'd have loved to see rounds two and three play out, and reckoned the eye damage exposed a chin question. Translation: he's not buying the 'best wrestler in the division' label, and he says he'd still beat Tsarukyan given the chance.

There's context worth adding to the shade. Pimblett flagged that Ruffy came in ranked No. 7, and that Tsarukyan's prior win was over Dan Hooker — a man who was No. 6 at the time but has since slid to roughly No. 13 after dropping a couple of fights. It's the classic argument you make when you don't want a rival getting a title shot ahead of you.

The Title Traffic Jam

That's really the whole game here. Pimblett and Tsarukyan have never shared a cage, and the current logjam at 155 makes it unlikely soon. Tsarukyan looks like the front-runner for a title crack, but Pimblett floated the messier scenario: a possible Ilia Topuria–Justin Gaethje situation, with Topuria complaining about Gaethje's gloves after the fact. Pimblett wasn't kind about that, essentially calling Topuria a sore loser and dismissing the complaint outright.

So the exit-poll question hangs there. Tsarukyan did his part — a brutal Round 1 KO is a statement, holes or no holes. Whether the UFC rewards it or reshuffles the deck for a Topuria–Gaethje rerun is the story to watch. Either way, Pimblett will keep talking. That's the one thing you can bank on.