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Arman Tsarukyan recently received an unexpected backing from Jorge Masvidal in his ongoing verbal clash with Michael Chandler.
Tsarukyan secured his most significant victory to date, edging out Charles Oliveira in a split decision at UFC 300 earlier this month. After the bout, UFC CEO Dana White extended an offer for him to headline UFC 302 against reigning champion Islam Makhachev on June 1.
However, 'Ahalkalakets' declined the opportunity, citing a desire for more time to adequately prepare. Subsequently, the MMA promotion opted to grant the 155-pound title opportunity to Dustin Poirier instead.
Tsarukyan's decision to decline his first championship opportunity caught 'Iron' by surprise. During a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Chandler said:
"I also don’t understand why he didn’t take that fight. I would have taken it."
The 27-year-old Armenian turned to X and vehemently criticized Chandler for his remarks:
"I don’t expect you to understand Michael Chandler. We are not on the same level. I am here to be the champ. You are just waiting for a paycheck. I also don’t understand why you waited for Conor to fight for two years, you could’ve lost four exciting fights during that time."
Check out the exchange between Michael Chandler and Arman Tsarukyan below:
'Gamebred' recently chimed into MMA Fighting's Instagram post covering Chandler and Tsarukyan's feud, expressing support for 'Ahalkalakets':
"Well said, brother."
Check out Jorge Masvidal's comments below:
'Iron' is preparing to headline UFC 303 during the promotion's International Fight Week 2024, where he will face former two-division champion Conor McGregor in a welterweight bout. The pay-per-view event is scheduled for June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
When Jorge Masvidal turned down Michael Chandler's 'BMF' title call-out
Michael Chandler consistently issued challenges to Jorge Masvidal for the 'BMF' title matchup, particularly when 'Gamebred' held the ceremonial belt. However, during an interview at an event (via MMA Fighting) in November 2022, Masvidal vehemently rejected Chandler's propositions and expressed his lack of interest in facing 'Iron':
"Michael Chandler’s a quitter, man. That’s like the first thing to being a BMF. I saw him fight my boy Will Brooks, and Will Brooks hit that motherf**ker so hard he just quit in the middle of the [fight]. He turned back, shook his head and was like, 'Nah, I’m done fighting.'"
He added:
"BMF, my a**. That’s the first rule of being a BMF — you can’t be a quitter. You might lose, but you can’t give up on yourself. You can’t quit. That conversation for the BMF belt? No, it ain’t happening."
