On paper, Arman Tsarukyan‘s situation does not make sense. He’s winning, he’s active, and he remains at the top of the lightweight division. However, when the UFC needed an interim champion and a clear next step for the division, his name was secretly pushed aside. Fans raised an obvious question: how does the most deserving contender keep missing the moment?

The answer, it turns out, is less about rankings and more about timing, optics, and one very specific destination. According to a UFC insider, ‘Ahalkalakets’ didn’t just lose a title shot; he got caught on the wrong side of a much bigger plan.

Daniel Cormier explains why Arman Tsarukyan was left out

On his YouTube channel, Daniel Cormier explained why the UFC chose to book Justin Gaethje versus Paddy Pimblett rather than Tsarukyan. According to the UFC commentator, the matchup was designed from the get-go as a win-win from the start. “Paddy Pimblett won,” he said. “You had a star that was gonna go fight Ilia Topuria for the belt. Justin Gaethje won; now you have an American guy holding a portion of a title with a fight at the White House that is going to happen in June, around Fourth of July weekend.”

‘DC’ explained that while the move didn’t quite click at first, in retrospect, it made perfect sense. “It was a no-lose situation, and now, honestly, I don’t know how we missed it,” he said, before adding, “Now, it kind of makes sense, because now that Gaethje has the belt, you got an American guy holding an American title going into the White House. It worked.”

In other words, the UFC did more than just set up a bout; it set the stage. For Arman Tsarukyan, the timing could not have been worse. His pullout from the title fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 had already strained trust, and following incidents like headbutting Dan Hooker ahead of their fight only made things worse for the Armenian.

Even Justin Gaethje, ahead of UFC 324, admitted that ‘Ahalkalakets’ was probably more deserving but also explained why the UFC hesitated. Missed weight, late pullouts, and unnecessary altercations matter when the stakes involve a new broadcast deal and a major event.

Dana White didn’t sugarcoat it either. The Armenian was given an opportunity, and the promotion didn’t like how it played out. While Arman Tsarukyan kept himself active with grappling and wrestling fights after submitting Dan Hooker, momentum in the UFC does not pause for cleanup. However, none of this suggests that Tsarukyan is finished. Far from it.

Cormier’s theory reframes the snub as strategic, rather than personal. With a White House bout coming and the UFC focusing on optics over competition, Arman Tsarukyan was not passed over simply because he couldn’t win. He was passed over because, at the time, he didn’t fit the picture the UFC was trying to paint. In fact, he believes the UFC still has a big problem in hand.

Cormier is worried about the state of American MMA for the White House event

That broader concern is what Daniel Cormier keeps circling back to. With a White House card scheduled for June 14, he sees a problem that extends beyond matchmaking politics. American MMA is no longer at the top, as it once was. Only Kayla Harrison and Mackenzie Dern now hold UFC gold for the country, while the men’s cupboard looks thin.

That’s why Justin Gaethje’s interim belt suddenly becomes so important, even with Ilia Topuria looming. ‘DC’ pointed out that the issue is not star power or excitement; it’s representation. Aside from Gaethje, there are no other American male champions, and none in the top 10 pound-for-pound rankings.

Even at heavyweight, a division he believes will always be popular thanks to names like Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane, the lack of American representation sticks out. But instead of just sounding alarms, Daniel Cormier has been blunt about his response. He wishes to help fix it himself. By coaching wrestling at Gilroy High School, he’s focused on developing the next generation rather than debating rankings.

“Justin Gaethje now is the interim champion; it’s the only belt we have on American males. But we’ll fix that. We’ll start training some wrestlers,” he said, referring directly to grassroots development. When viewed this way, the UFC’s White House optics—and why someone like Arman Tsarukyan didn’t fit the moment—seem less personal and more like a symptom of a larger, unresolved problem.