Tsarukyan tells Gaethje to vacate title if he won't fight this year

Tsarukyan dominant in first-round TKO of Hooker

Contender pressures champion, demands title shot

Will Gaethje rush back early next year?

Arman Tsarukyan raises his fist in triumph as he leaves the octagon after defeating Mauricio Hooker at UFC 331, held Saturday at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. [Lee Mijin Image]

Having cemented his status as the top contender, Arman Tsarukyan called on UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje to either fight him before the end of the year or vacate the belt.

Tsarukyan stopped Mauricio Hooker by TKO in the first round at UFC 331 on Saturday (local time) and immediately declared his intention to challenge for the title, saying he hopes to fight in December.

The obstacle is Gaethje's health. In a recent interview, Gaethje said he has lingering pain in both hands following his bout against Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 in June and has no intention of competing again this year.

"I can't hit anything properly yet. Both hands got hurt in the last fight," Gaethje said, signaling he plans to spend the rest of the year resting as champion.

In response, Tsarukyan made clear he is not willing to wait. "I want the title fight. If Gaethje wants to wait for no special reason, he should give up the title," he said. "Then we can fight for the interim title. It doesn't matter who the opponent is. What I need is a title fight."

Two UFC champions have recently relinquished their titles voluntarily — women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and men's heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall both gave up their belts, having determined that injuries would keep them sidelined for at least a year.

Gaethje has not said he will sit out until June next year, which would mark a full year since his last fight, but the gap is already unusually long. The promotion has at times created an interim title when a champion's defense is expected to be delayed by six months to a year.

Tsarukyan also pressed his case as the most deserving next challenger. He said he would be "shocked" if the UFC gave the opportunity to Ilia Topuria instead of him, and at the UFC 331 post-fight press conference he taunted Gaethje, saying the champion "is scared" to fight him.

Arman Tsarukyan (right) pins Mauricio Hooker against the cage. Tsarukyan timed a sharp elbow strike to Hooker's face the moment the grappling clinch broke, then followed up with ground-and-pound to finish the fight. [Lee Mijin Image]

Tsarukyan's desired outcome is straightforward: a lightweight title fight against Gaethje in December, or — if Gaethje cannot compete — an interim title bout with himself as a participant. Whether the UFC will grant his request remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the elbow strike that finished Hooker at UFC 331 was no accident — it was a carefully rehearsed technique. Training footage released after the fight showed Tsarukyan repeatedly drilling the same elbow in the exact form he used to score the knockout.

A strong wrestler, Tsarukyan appears to have prepared the strike by anticipating that Hooker would shoot for an underhook against the cage to defend the takedown, leaving his face exposed. The victory extended Tsarukyan's winning streak in the lightweight division to six.

yjc@heraldcorp.com