Arman Tsarukyan tells UFC they haven’t any alternative but to book him vs Justin Gaethje: ‘Who else?’

Arman Tsarukyan insists he’s next in line after UFC Freedom 250.

Two latest champions were crowned at Sunday’s UFC event on the White House lawn, with Justin Gaethje finally achieving undisputed lightweight status after Ciryl Gane became a two-time interim heavyweight titleholder.

To attain that feat, Gaethje defeated Ilia Topuria within the essential event, marking a monumental upset in Washington, DC.

There’s not yet confirmation as to what lies ahead for ‘The Highlight’, but it surely’s clear what one top contender thinks must occur.

Should Justin Gaethje retire following his undisputed title win?🤔

On his third attempt, Justin Gaethje finally became the undisputed lightweight champion, pulling off considered one of the most important upsets in combat sports history👏🏼

Arman Tsarukyan says only he can challenge Justin Gaethje after UFC White House

There was loads of uproar at first of 2026 when Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett were chosen to fight for the interim title over Arman Tsarukyan.

The Armenian’s antics away from the Octagon looked to have cost him the chance, and he has as a substitute been keeping busy in wrestling and grappling organizations.

Now, with the newest undisputed lightweight title fight complete, Tsarukyan believes his probability to compete for gold within the UFC for the primary time should be arriving.

“It must be me,” Tsarukyan said during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.

“Like, who else? Come on. What are they going to do? It’s me.

“I need to beat Justin Gaethje. I need to beat everybody. And when Ilia is prepared, if I’m the champion, I might do the identical thing Justin did — even worse,” he added.

Tsarukyan submitted Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar last November to make it five wins in a row.

He previously missed out on the possibility to win the lightweight title after pulling out of his scheduled rematch against Islam Makhachev on only a day’s notice.

Having weighed in as backup for UFC 317 last summer after which beaten ‘The Hangman’ in quick time five months later, Tsarukyan believes he has done enough to earn back primary contender status.

It stays to be seen whether the UFC higher-ups will agree with that assessment.