Overview
- UFC 324 on Jan. 24 at T-Mobile Arena features Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett for the interim lightweight title on the promotion’s Paramount+ debut.
- Dana White said Tsarukyan’s weigh-in headbutt of Dan Hooker was “100 percent” a factor in bypassing the No. 1 contender for this title slot.
- Tsarukyan told CBS Sports the UFC has not contacted him to be the official backup and that he will not cut weight “just for money” after doing so last June without fighting.
- Tsarukyan says the UFC told him he was “too dangerous to push” on the Paramount+ opener due to recent incidents, and he is staying active with wrestling while talks for a Dustin Poirier grappling match remain unsigned.
- Trash talk escalated as Pimblett and Dan Hooker exchanged personal insults, Tsarukyan called both “trash cans,” and Daniel Cormier publicly questioned the snub and praised Tsarukyan’s merits.