Paddy Pimblett has sparked a heated exchange with fellow lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan through a series of increasingly hostile social media posts. The English fighter initiated the conflict by dismissing Tsarukyan's standing in the division during a BBC interview.
"Tsarukyan is a complete nobody, and then there's Gaethje and me. Nobody cares about Arman," Pimblett stated bluntly.
The timing of this verbal sparring comes as the UFC's lightweight landscape undergoes significant changes. Current champion Islam Makhachev has vacated his belt to move up to welterweight, while Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira are scheduled to battle for the vacant title on June 28 at UFC 317.
Pimblett, nicknamed "The Baddy," has made it clear he prefers facing Justin Gaethje rather than the division's number one contender. His reasoning? Gaethje supposedly has greater media pull and a fighting style better suited to Pimblett's abilities.
Tsarukyan didn't take the insults lying down. The Armenian fighter fired back through his X account: "It was obvious that you were talking trash without any intention of backing it up. Your career in the UFC is based on gifts, hype and shortcuts to the top."
Worth noting, Tsarukyan was scheduled to face Makhachev in January but withdrew due to a back injury hours before the fight. This late cancellation apparently damaged his standing with UFC president Dana White and the organization.
The exchange escalated when Pimblett launched an even more scathing response: "A rich kid talking about gifts. Daddy's given you everything on a silver platter your whole life. I never said I wouldn't fight you, it's just that nobody cares about you after you retired to Islam because of a 'back injury'."
Despite the intensifying feud, a match between these two seems unlikely in the immediate future. Pimblett continues targeting higher-profile opponents like Gaethje to strengthen his title credentials, while Tsarukyan likely faces a less prominent matchup as he works to rebuild his reputation with UFC management.
How will this war of words impact their respective paths in the increasingly competitive lightweight division?
