Arman Tsarukyan believes Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje is just delaying the inevitable.
Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) isn’t quite out of the dog house yet with the UFC, and his road to the title continues to be delayed. The 29-year-old is coming off a dominant first-round submission of Dan Hooker at UFC Fight Night 265, but he’ll have to watch lightweight champion Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) take on interim champ Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) in a title-unification bout that headlines UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House.
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“Ilia vs. Gaethje is a good fight, but no chance to Gaethje,” Tsarukyan told UFC Europe. “Ilia has better boxing, and I think he’s going to knock him out. They just waste my time. They got to put me vs. Ilia, and I’ll take his belt. Easy money for me.”
Oddsmakers suggest Gaethje’s chances to win are bleak after Topuria opened as a 5-1 favorite.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Freedom 250: Tsarukyan calls Topuria vs. Gaethje ‘waste of time’
