Tsarukyan threatens Topuria and poses as a rival: "He's not top-level. I'm going to send him back to the top 15."

Less than a week has passed since Ilia Topuria lifted the lightweight title by knocking out Charles Oliveira in the first round, but already the search for his next opponent is underway.

Immediately after the fight, Paddy Pimblett entered the octagon to face the Spanish-Georgian, and they had to be separated. The Briton isn't the only one who has been linked to a future fight with Ilia; Arman Tsarukyan is another upcoming contender.

The Armenian was the reserve fighter in the fight between Topuria and Oliveira . Arman is the number one in the division, so he would be a potential rival for the Spanish-Georgian. The problem is that he currently has a difficult relationship with the UFC, having retired in January due to a back injury before his scheduled fight against Islam Makhachev, in which the belt was at stake.

Still, Tsarukyan remains a potential candidate to fight Topuria at lightweight: "I'm a complete fighter, and I'm not just going to fight him. I'm going to punch him, kick him, and kick him. Obviously, I'm not going to try to box him. I'm going to show him a real MMA fight," he said.

The Armenian was upset that Paddy Pimblett entered the Octagon after the fight: "It was a mistake for Joe Rogan to call him out. I was surprised, but when Dana said it shouldn't be like that, I said, 'Okay, I hope he doesn't fight for the title.'"

Arman Tsarukyan commented that it was more difficult for him to fight Charles Oliveira than Topuria : "He never fought fighters like me... I can tell he's not at a high level. I can't wait to show it to everyone. I'm going to send him back to the top 15 of the pound-for-pound rankings. For me it's easier to fight Topuria than Oliveira ," he concluded.