While Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria squared off in the main event of the UFC White House for the lightweight title, Arman Tsarukyan was left watching the showdown from the sidelines. As the top contender in the division, many believed the Armenian actually deserved to fight Topuria, and that belief remained strong even after Justin Gaethje became the new champion. While he made some money by rightly betting on Gaethje to beat Topuria (his friend actually made the bet), the No. 2-ranked 155-pound contender believes the promotion could once again snub him for the lightweight title as they did earlier. Realizing that possibility, Arman Tsarukyan is not averse to leaving the promotion if he doesn’t get the next crack at the championship.

“It has to be me. Who else?” Tsarukyan said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “What are they going to do? They’re going to put Charles Oliveira vs. Justin Gaethje or Conor McGregor, if he wins, and I don’t think he wins versus Max Holloway. It’s me. I want to beat Justin Gaethje. I want to beat everybody, and when Ilia is going to be ready, I want to be the champion, and I’ll do the same as Justin did and even worse.

“The UFC can do whatever they want to do; I cannot control that. If I could control that, I would’ve fought for the title one year ago, even more, two years ago. They didn’t give me a title shot 2-3 times. I don’t know what will happen if they don’t give it to me this time. Maybe I picked the wrong sport.”

It appears the Armenian is putting all his cards on the table with his latest statement since he knows exactly where he stands in the division. After beating Ilia Topuria, Justin Gaethje made it clear that he’s not interested in a rematch right away. As such, Arman Tsarukyan, as the No. 2-ranked lightweight, has a strong case for being the guy who gets to fight the newly crowned champion next. However, despite this, his complicated equation with UFC CEO Dana White could still complicate things.

Even though last year Tsarukyan defeated Dan Hooker and defended his No. 1 contender status in the lightweight division, Dana White made it clear that he needs to “climb” back up to fight for the title. The 56-year-old mogul clarified that Tsarukyan had his chance against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, and he blew it by withdrawing at the last minute due to a back issue. For that reason, White has remained reluctant to give him another title shot lest he squander it again.

Meanwhile, Tsarukyan has kept himself busy with wrestling matches in the Real American Freestyle while he waits for the UFC to give him a shot at the title. But at the same time, the current BMF champion, Charles Oliveira, who defeated Max Holloway at UFC 326, has begun his push for a rematch with Justin Gaethje.

So, unless the situation with Arman Tsarukyan can be resolved, the UFC could easily explore matchups like that. However, with the Armenian now emerging as one of the division’s biggest stars, there is always a likelihood that the UFC could give in and hand him the title shot that he desperately seeks.

Arman Tsarukyan discloses his return timeline  

Though the concerns around Arman Tsarukyan’s title shot remain largely unclear, the Armenian revealed some good news about his comeback. After Ariel Helwani asked whether the UFC had actually reached out to him regarding his potential return, the lightweight contender revealed that the promotion already has a date in place.

“Yes,” Arman Tsarukyan told Helwani in the same interview. “They told me even the date. Approximately when I’m gonna fight. It’s after summer.”

Well, “after summer” usually means Tsarukyan’s return could be set for October. Currently, the promotion hasn’t announced any event for that month, though Alexander Volkanovski’s featherweight title defense against Movsar Evloev is expected to take place around that time. Evloev is another fighter, like Tsarukyan, who has been snubbed for a title shot by the UFC multiple times now.

However, Tsarukyan quickly said “no” when asked about a possible return in September. Instead, when the veteran reporter floated the possibility of Tsarukyan’s next matchup taking place in October, the top-ranked lightweight did not seem opposed to the idea. 

“Who knows, brother,” Tsarukyan added. “I gotta talk to Hunter first.”

The Armenian’s comments are definitely a positive sign that he is thinking about his future in the promotion rather than looking for a way out. But that all depends on the UFC and whether or not the promotion gives him the fight with Justin Gaethje. But that’s also possible only if the new lightweight champion decides he will not be retiring, as was earlier suggested by many.