Arman Tsarukyan debunks Justin Gaethje's claim, says he immediately accepted 10-day notice fight but had a condition that the UFC did not agree to

Arman Tsarukyan and Justin Gaethje are currently embroiled in something of a disagreement. In a tweet just a few hours old, 'The Highlight' claimed that Tsarukyan, alongside a legion of other top-level lightweights, turned down the short-notice fight.

However, Tsarukyan wasted no time in disputing Gaethje's claim. According to him, he had accepted the matchup. Unfortunately, a demand for the fight to be at a catchweight of 160 pounds was rejected by the UFC, which caused the proposed UFC 313 bout to fall through.

"I didn't say no, I accepted immediately and asked for a 160 lbs catchweight 11 days out from weigh ins, UFC said that wasn't an option"

Gaethje listed several other opponents who allegedly turned down a short-notice fight with him, among them were BMF champion Max Holloway, ex-interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, ex-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, and the ever-popular Renato Moicano.

However, as is the case with Tsarukyan, it may very well be that his other prospective opponents had listed conditions that the UFC wasn't keen on agreeing to. Regardless, Gaethje now has an opponent for his UFC 313 bout: he will face Muay Thai buzzsaw Rafael Fiziev in a rematch.

The pair had previously crossed paths at UFC 286, with Gaethje winning by majority decision. Fiziev, however, believes the fight did not prove Gaethje's superiority over him and is determined to avenge the loss. Unfortunately for him, doing so will be a tall order.

Not only is he coming in on short notice, but he has been inactive for over a year, nursing a crippling knee injury that left him with a torn ACL.

---

Arman Tsarukyan recently withdrew from a fight like Justin Gaethje's opponent

Much like Justin Gaethje's opponent, Dan Hooker, withdrew from UFC 313, so too had Arman Tsarukyan from UFC 311, where he would have faced Islam Makhachev for lightweight gold in the main event. In a similar fashion, Tsarukyan withdrew from the fight dangerously close to the event.

In fact, he pulled out with just 24 hours until UFC 311. He was replaced by Renato Moicano, who was submitted by the Dagestani champion in short order. Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White has revealed that he has no intention of granting Tsarukyan an immediate title shot following his injury debacle.