Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan aren’t officially matched up yet, but they’re already beefing.
Following Gaethje’s momentous lightweight championship win over Ilia Topuria at UFC White House, it appeared he and Tsarukyan could become fast friends with Tsarukyan’s buddy having publicly wagered $1 million on Gaethje to pull off the upset. When Gaethje forced Topuria to quit on the stool at the end of the fourth round, Tsarukyan friend’s return was reportedly a cool $5.7 million, and he vowed to buy Gaethje a truck for his troubles.
“I’m not taking this truck from f*cking Arman,” Gaethje said. “There’s absolutely no way I would take a truck… I’m going to have to ride around in a f*cking truck that a dude bought for me every day. I don’t know, I just can’t go there. We didn’t shake on it, he does not owe it to me.”
Tsarukyan did not take the news well, first posting a video in conjunction with an online gambling site in which he vowed to give the truck away to one of his fans instead, then telling Nina Drama on her Kick stream that he’s looking forward to making Gaethje pay for the perceived slight.
“Justin is saying, ‘I’m not going to take the car,’” Tsarukyan said. “F*ck it, we’re not going to give it to him. He doesn’t want it, he doesn’t deserve that. Yesterday, I watched the video and I was shocked, like what the f*ck, if you don’t want it, f*ck you.”
“I’m going to f*ck him up in the fight,” Tsarukyan added. “I can’t wait. You’re saying you don’t want my truck and you’re not going to drive that, so f*ck you. Say ‘thank you’ instead of being rude, like what the f*ck? I give you the truck, we bought the truck, you’re saying, ‘I’m not even going to drive it,‘ why are you such an assh*le?’ … I talked to his manager, I asked what [horsepower] he wants, I told him that we already got the truck. F*ck you, Justin, I can’t wait to whoop your ass. … If you don’t need it, you have friends, family, parents, just give away or give somebody who needs that, you know better. Why are you such an assh*le?”
Tsarukyan is currently on a five-fight win streak and has lost just twice in 12 UFC appearances, with those losses coming to future lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in what was Tsarukyan’s UFC debut, and a narrow split decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot. He has loomed as the No. 1 contender for the past two years, but injuries and disagreements with management have prevented him from securing a title shot. In the meantime, Tsarukyan has emerged as a star with RAF, competing on an almost monthly basis for the freestyle wrestling promotion.
When the time comes for Gaethje to book his first undisputed lightweight championship defense, he expects Tsarukyan to get the call.
“He is definitely the guy that’s up for [the next title shot], I agree,” Gaethje told Rogan.
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