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In UFC Qatar, Arman Tsarukyan submitted Dan Hooker in the second round to rediscover his best form and earn a lightweight title shot, or so it seemed. Despite his dominant performance and being the division's number one contender, Dana White does not seem to have forgiven him for his injury 24 hours before the title fight against Islam Makhachev last January. Once the fight for the interim belt between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett was made official, White gave his explanations after last Saturday's UFC 323.
A few days ago, social media was abuzz with Ilia Topuria's decision to take a break for personal reasons until the second quarter of 2026. However, when everything really exploded was a few hours later, as the UFC announced that the main event of UFC 324 on January 24 will be the fight between Pimblett and Gaethje. Many experts considered this decision a lack of respect towards Tsarukyan, as he is ranked better than both and is coming off a victory. Moreover, even the Armenian was upset through his social networks.
He had a chance... He's going to have to work to get it back
Dana White doesn't seem to have cared much about the criticism, and despite having come to terms with Arman, he still holds a grudge. "He had an opportunity... He's going to have to work to get it back. I don't give a s*** what the numbers say." When it seemed that the company had lifted the punishment, it has been shown again that Tsarukyan is not their favorite, and that they prefer to give the opportunity to more media-friendly names with whom they can amortize such an important event.
Business involved
UFC 324 will be the first card of 2026, when the new deal between the promotion and Paramount will come into effect. $7.7 billion over a total of seven years, or in other words, $1.1 billion per year. It's clear that Dana White and his team know that if there's that much money at stake, they have to step up with the cards, and to do that they've gone for two fighters who are more globally marketable than Tsarukyan. Because yes, MMA is not only a sport, it's also a business.
For this very reason, Paddy Pimblett has risen to the number 5 spot in the rankings despite his only victory over a ranked opponent being against Michael Chandler, who is not even in the top 10 and has won one of his last six fights. The reality is that the Liverpool fighter would be the most high-profile fight Topuria could have when he returns, as the two have a strong rivalry that has made numerous headlines.
UFC's favourite Paddy Pimblett
The UFC knows this, so the ideal scenario for them would be for 'The Baddy' to win and thus be able to unify the belts with a super fight between Ilia and his number one public enemy. Gaethje is a suitable opponent for the occasion, who if he loses will possibly retire and knows that this is his last chance to get to the top.
He was interim champion a few years ago, and has had two other failed opportunities to be undisputed champion, so this time he will want to cause an upset, ruin Pimblett's hype and spoil the promoter's plan that by summer a Topuria vs Paddy fight could take place.