Tsarukyan was matched up with Georgio Poullas at the event in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday. Poullas was clearly losing the match, and started clubbing Tsarukyan at one point, possibly looking for a DQ. That wasn’t forthcoming, and Arman waited until the match was over, then shoved Poullas and went after him with an elbow and punches.

Chaos erupted shortly after, as both teams and any number of random spectators in the venue entered the fray.

Colby Covington was later seen escorting Poullas backstage. Tsarukyan won the match on points. Aside from the potential DQ attempt, the pair also slapped each other at one point. Not a pretty sight.

A brawl breaks out after Arman Tsarukyan’s victory over Georgio Poullas at #RAF6 😳

pic.twitter.com/b3dAqQTst2

— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) March 1, 2026

BRAWL JUST BROKE OUT AT #RAF06 BETWEEN ARMAN TSARUKYAN AND GEORGIO POULLAS

🎥: @ELaw32 pic.twitter.com/VfKkeQUugI

— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) March 1, 2026

Arman Tsarukyan is ranked #2 in the UFC’s lightweight division, behind only interim champ Justin Gaethje and champion Ilia Topuria. He last fought in November, submitting Dan Hooker; an early 2025 title shot fell through when Tsarukyan pulled out of a fight with Islam Makhachev last minute. That saw Renato Moicano replace him, and left him on the outs with the promotion, as UFC CEO and President Dana White openly questioned the seriousness of his injury.

Tsarukyan has been at the center of several controversies, including getting into it with Hooker at the UFC Qatar weigh-ins. In 2024, he was suspended nine months for punching a fan.

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The main card was off to a hot start as Volkan Oezdemir, Myktybek Orolbai, Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Kyoji Horiguchi all scored impressive finishes on our way to our top two fights. In the main and co-main events, Arman Tsarukyan and Ian Machado Garry both called for title shots after their wins. With UFC Qatar now in the books, let’s look at what’s next for the winners.

Arman Tsarukyan

After pulling out 24 hours away from his rematch against Islam Makhachev at the start of the year, the UFC clearly wasn’t happy with the Armenian. That’s why he was tasked with winning another bout even after already having earned his title shot. Being the massive betting favourite he was, Tsarukyan had the pressure of not only beating Dan Hooker but doing so in a way that would cement his number one contender status. That’s what he accomplished as he battered the Kiwi on his way to a second-round submission stoppage.

Rumours seem to be flying around that Ilia Topuria will headline the first numbered event of the Paramount era in January. The consensus seems to be that Paddy Pimblett will be his opponent due to the Englishman’s star power and their history. However, Tsarukyan still called for the shot in January, saying he will be ready. There’s no question that from a meritocratic standpoint, Tsarukyan is way ahead of Pimblett in the queue, but time will tell whether the UFC will still opt for Pimblett in January. One thing is certain, whether it’s in January or later, Tsarukyan’s next fight has to be for the lightweight title.

Tsarukyan’s next fight: Title shot

Ian Machado Garry

Like Tsarukyan, Ian Machado Garry called for a title shot after beating Belal Muhammad. Unlike Tsarukyan, Ian Machado Garry did not put on the type of performance that will solidify his status as the number one contender. While you could do worse than pick the Irishman as Makhachev’s first title defence, he hasn’t had a truly inspiring win in some time. His loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov upped his stock in a big way, but it was still a loss. His last four wins came against Geoff Neal, Michael Page, Carlos Prates and now Belal Muhammad. All very good names, but none of those tests were passed with what you would call “flying colours”. If anything, I think this win by Garry helps both Rakhmonov and Michael Morales’ cases for a shot. Prates is coming off back-to-back sensational KOs, but his loss to Garry will keep him behind the Irishman. That is also why I think Garry’s loss to Rakhmonov will probably end up keeping him behind the Kazakh fighter. With the public opinion seemingly being that Morales needs one more win, Shavkat will likely get the first crack Makhachev’s belt. That leaves Garry with one of Jack Della Maddalena, Morales, and Kamaru Usman as the contenders he hasn’t faced yet. I like the JDM vs Prates idea a lot, and I think Morales could actually slide into a shot without an issue. So give me Ian Machado Garry and Kamaru Usman in yet another number one contender fight.

Machado Garry’s next fight: Kamaru Usman

Volkan Oezdemir

The fighter from Switzerland stayed put as one of the steadiest fighters in the company. He never allows himself to go on long losing streaks that could derail his career, but he hasn’t put together the kind of win streak to get into the title picture ever since making a splash seven years ago. It feels like he’s been in the top10 forever and this latest first-round KO of Alonzo Menifield will keep him there for a little while longer. It both feels like you could throw any name at him while also having already fought everyone. I think a sensical matchup for Oezdemir next is the winner of the Nikita Krylov vs Modestas Bukauskas fight in January. Whether it’s a Krylov rematch or a streaking Bukauskas, we can count on Volkan to show up and be a knockout threat.

Oezdemir’s next fight: Krylov/Bukauskas winner

Myktybek Orolbai

A strange fight took place as a former lightweight and a former middleweight met in the middle at welterweight. On paper, the matchup was interesting since there were good reasons to favour both fighters. Yes, Hermansson was the naturally bigger fighter, but he’s now 37 coming off an absolutely brutal KO loss in June. Meanwhile, Orolbai looked a lot smaller, but being 10 years Hermansson’s junior really paid off. Orolbai just walked a tentative Hermansson down and kept throwing looping right hands, just waiting for one of them to land. When he finally connected cleanly on one of them, that was all she wrote. It’ll be interesting to see what Orolbai can do at welterweight after missing weight multiple times at 155 lbs. There’s no wrong way to match him up, but I’d like to see him face Chidi Njokuani next, who’s also a former middleweight.

Orolbai’s next fight: Chidi Njokuani

Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Just three weeks removed from his wild finish of Ante Delija, and on just two days’ notice, “Salsa Boy” flew all the way to Doha to take care of Shamil Gaziev in a minute and twenty-two seconds. What’s even crazier is that Cortes-Acosta called for one more fight before the end of the year and while the calendar is coming to its end, I think the UFC could still squeeze him in if they really wanted to. I think the only fighter that might be down to get off the couch and face WCS on short notice is someone like Derrick Lewis. “The Black Beast” has a lot of respect for the ones who stand-and-bang, so I feel like Cortes-Acosta has gotten on his radar by now. The UFC is in need of some fun storylines, so why not put it as a co-main to Royval and Kape to end the year?

Cortes-Acosta’s next fight: Derrick Lewis

Kyoji Horiguchi

Almost exactly 9 years after his last UFC fight, the 35-year-old looked as good as ever in his dominant showing over Tagir Ulanbekov, who had won four straight coming in. In those 9 years outside the MMA leader, Horiguchi’s only losses came against Kai Asakura (whom he also beat), as well as Sergio Pettis and Patchy Mix a bantamweight. His first stint in RIZIN also included a submission win over Manel Kape. This fight proved that the Japanese fighter hasn’t slowed down and is still arguably a top5 flyweight in the world. With this win putting him in the division’s top10, he should face Amir Albazi next to see if he can crack the top5.

Horiguchi’s next fight: Amir Albazi

The post What’s Next: UFC Qatar Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

For the fourth consecutive event, that was the case on Saturday, with four Performance of the Night bonuses instead handed out at UFC Qatar. Among the winners, the returning Kyoji Horiguchi, and short-notice heavyweight Waldo Cortes-Acosta.

A former flyweight title challenger, Horiguchi left the UFC in 2016 off a three-fight win streak, instead opting to compete for RIZIN in his native Japan. The American Top Team fighter, who does reside in Florida when in camp, would go on to simultaneously hold bantamweight gold in both RIZIN and Bellator MMA, an unprecedented feat.

While injury would see him vacate both those titles, Horiguchi would later become RIZIN’s inaugural flyweight champion, before opting to return to the UFC to make another run at flyweight gold there. He got off to a great start on Saturday, choking out Tagir Ulanbekov after out-working him for the better part of three rounds.

Waldo Cortes-Acosta wasn’t even supposed to be fighting this week, and had already earned a recent victory over PFL heavyweight champ Ante Delija. Yet with Sergey Spivac out, the Dominican heavyweight jumped in on just a few days’ notice- and knocked out Shamil Gaziev in under two minutes. He then called for a spot on the final UFC event of 2025.

Newcomer Luke Riley, and main event lightweight Arman Tsarukyan, who submitted Dan Hooker, rounded out the UFC Qatar Performance of the Night bonus winners.

The post Returning Horiguchi, Short-Notice Cortes-Acosta Win Bonuses at UFC Qatar appeared first on Cageside Press.

Tsarukyan was to have faced Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, only to pull out of the fight during Fight Week due to a back injury. He would serve as the back-up fighter at UFC 317, but his services were not required.

Kicks were exchanged early and often between Tsarukyan and Hooker, who had featured in a tense weigh-off scene underscored by a headbutt by Tsarukyan during the final face-off. Just past a minute in, Arman clinched up, putting Hooker on the fence and looking for a way to take the taller man down. Hooker would escape, but ate a nasty knee to the head on exit. The New Zealand native then fanned on a head kick. Tsarukyan, meanwhile, was showing solid accuracy with his hands.

Near the midway mark, Hooker jumped a guillotine, but didn’t have it and wound up with Tsarukyan on top, in side control. In the final seconds of the round, still on top, Tsarukyan would sneak in some ground n’ pound, while sandpapering Hooker with his elbow.

Hooker was showing some swelling around one eye after the opening round, likely from the knee he ate midway through round one. And surprisingly, after it backfired in round one, Hooker again went after a guillotine, and again the outcome was Tsarukyan coming out on top. A nifty sequence, with Tsarukyan essentially doing an alligator roll to get top position.

This time, there was nearly four minutes on the clock. Tsarukyan had all the time in the world to work, and managed to mix in some heavy ground n’ pound, punches and elbows, while posturing up. Hooker covered up, and survived the initial barrage. Moving into half-guard came next for Tsarukyan, with mount tantalizingly close at hand. Instead, Arman locked up an arm-triangle choke, which, after a slight adjustment, was in tight, forcing Hooker to tap!

Already ranked #1 at 155lbs in the UFC, Arman Tsarukyan cemented his position at UFC Qatar.

Official Result: Arman Tsarukyan def. Dan Hooker by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 2, 3:34

The post UFC Qatar: Arman Tsarukyan Taps Dan Hooker to Cement #1 Ranking appeared first on Cageside Press.

UFC Qatar also sees a key welterweight fight in the co-main event slot, as Ian Machado Garry faces off against ex-champ and number one ranked Belal Muhammad.

Both fights carry possible title implications with them, though only Tsarukyan vs. Hooker has been called a number one contender’s fight. Of course, such designations, even when labelled by the UFC’s higher ups, never seem to be set in stone.

Stepping in on short notice at UFC Qatar is Waldo Cortes-Acosta, replacing Serghei Spivac with all of three day’s notice.

Weigh-ins for UFC Qatar take place on Friday morning local time. Results can be found below.

UFC Qatar: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker Weigh-In Results

Main card

Lightweight: Arman Tsarukyan (156) vs. Dan Hooker (155)
Welterweight: Belal Muhammad (171) vs. Ian Machado Garry (170)
Light Heavyweight: Volkan Oezdemir (206) vs. Alonzo Menifield (206)
Welterweight: Jack Hermansson (170.5) vs. Myktybek Orolbai (170)
Heavyweight: Waldo Cortes-Acosta (265) vs. Shamil Gaziev (262)
Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov (125.5) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (125.5)

Preliminary card

Featherweight: Bogdan Grad (145.5) vs. Luke Riley (145.5)
Welterweight: Nicolas Dalby (170.5) vs. Saygid Izagakhmaev (170)
Flyweight: Alex Perez (126) vs. Asu Almabayev (125.5)
Light Heavyweight: Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev (205) vs. Rafael Cerqueira (204)
Bantamweight: Bekzat Almakhan (136) vs. Aleksandre Topuria (135.5)
Middleweight: Ismail Naurdiev (185) vs. Ryan Loder (185)
Lightweight: Nurullo Aliev (155) vs. Shaqueme Rock (156)
Heavyweight: Marek Bujło (256.5) vs. Denzel Freeman (260)

The post UFC Qatar: Tsarukyan vs. Hooker Weigh-In Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

“He’s the only one who said yes from deserving fighters,” Tsarukyan (22-3) stated during Wednesday’s UFC Qatar media day. “I was supposed to fight with [Justin] Gaethje as well, he said ‘no,’ but Hooker said ‘yes.'”

In the UFC’s official rankings, Tsarukyan currently holds the #1 spot; Gaethje clocks in at #4, but has previously said he will not fight unless it’s for a title. Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway, and Paddy Pimblett are also among the top five at lightweight.

Tsarukyan allowed that “The Hangman” is “a good fighter, good striker,” but added that “I’m on a different level.” Either way, he believes that, with a win over the #6-ranked Dan Hooker, it’s on to a title fight, after letting one slip through his fingers at the start of 2025 after pulling out of a rematch with Islam Makhachev.

“Yeah for sure. I beat Dan Hooker, I’m fighting for the title next,” stated the Armenian.

There’s a chance, if Tsarukyan does win at UFC Qatar on Saturday, that a lightweight title shot is indeed next (these things are never set in stone), but it may not necessarily come against Ilia Topuria. Topuria has suggested he’s looking at following Islam Makhachev up to welterweight, with an eye on becoming the first UFC fighter to earn a title in three weight classes.

For Arman Tsarukyan, it doesn’t matter who he faces for gold. Topuria, or anyone else. “No, for me it doesn’t matter. I want to be a champion. Who is going to be the champion, I’ll fight. I’ll take that fight.”

Should the title be vacant, meanwhile, Tsarukyan is willing to fight anyone the promotion wants him to. “Against anybody. Who the UFC gives me, I’ll fight. Probably it’s [Justin] Gaethje, or Paddy [Pimblett], or [Max] Holloway. Charles [Oliveira], he won his last fight, so he’s on the line as well.”

There’s certainly plenty of names that could be next.

Watch the full UFC Qatar media day appearance by Arman Tsarukyan above.

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The UFC makes its debut in Qatar care of a Fight Night event scheduled for the Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena on November 22, 2025. On Wednesday, UFC President and CEO Dana White announced some big fights for the show, including the headliner: that will see lightweight contenders Arman Tsarukyan (22-3) and Dan Hooker (24-12) face off.

Tsarukyan was expected to fight Islam Makhachev for 155lb gold earlier this year, only to pull out last minute due to a back injury, much to the annoyance of the UFC. That seems to have dropped the Armenian down a spot or two, with Paddy Pimblett or Justin Gaethje looking more likely to be Ilia Topuria’s first title defense.

Having last competed in April of 2025, Tsarukyan has won four straight, including victories over Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush. He did serve as a back-up fighter for UFC 317 in July, but was not needed.

Hooker has also been out for over a year, last having fought (and won) against Matuesz Gamrot in August of 2024 at UFC 305. “The Hangman” has won his last three bouts.

As for the welterweight showdown announced on Wednesday for UFC Qatar, that will see ex-champ Belal Muhmmad (24-4, 1NC) looking to bounce back from the loss of his title to Jack Della Maddalena. He’ll be taking on Irish star Ian Machado Garry (16-1), whose only loss to date has come against Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Garry got back in the win column earlier this year with a victory over Carlos Prates. He then served as a back-up fighter for Muhammad vs. JDM.

UFC Qatar currently features the following reported match-ups:

• Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker
• Belal Muhammad vs. Ian Machado Garry
• Alex Perez vs. Asu Almabayev
• Jan Błachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov
• Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev vs. Rafael Cerqueira
• Bekzat Almakhan vs. Aleksandre Topuria
• Felipe Lima vs. Daniel Marcos
• Serghei Spivac vs. Shamil Gaziev
• Marek Bujło vs. Denzel Freeman
• Ismail Naurdiev vs. Ryan Loder
• Jack Hermansson vs. Myktybek Orolbai

The post UFC Qatar Gets Tsarukyan vs. Hooker, Garry vs. Muhammad appeared first on Cageside Press.

What he believes, however, is that current 155lb UFC champion Ilia Topuria is ducking him.

Tsarukyan (22-3) was to have fought for gold against Islam Makhachev earlier this year, only to withdraw due to injury at the last minute. He was replaced by Renato Moicano (who didn’t fare well), and wound up in Dana White’s dog house as a result.

Still, Tsarukyan is ranked #2 in the 155lb division, with only Makhachev ahead of him. That’s a mere formality, as Makhachev vacated his title earlier this year to pursue a second belt at welterweight. Since then, Topuria claimed the lightweight crown, defeating Charles Oliveira in the process.

Speaking at an open workout ahead of UFC 319, where training partner Khamzat Chimaev features, Tsarukyan addressed a report by Chael Sonnen that he’d be fighting Topuria next.

“I hope so. I hope so. I want to fight for the title. I’ve been waiting for so long. Chael Sonnen maybe knows something,” Topuria told media outlets including Cageside Press. “They didn’t tell anything yet to me. So I’m still waiting, training, and trying to call out Ilia as much as possible.”

As to why Topuria doesn’t seem interested in fighting Tsarukyan (the champ has suggested he’d rather drop the belt, as he has his eyes on yet a third title, at 170lbs), Arman suggested that “He feels that he’s going to lose that fight; it’s better to give the belt or go up than wait [to see] what happens with me. Because he knows I’m a big problem for him, and I’m going to get his title.”

“He knows that, and he wants to get an easy fight with Paddy [Pimblett] or [Justin] Gaethje or someone. Just make money, and do the fans. But with me, it’s going to be hard for him.”

Pimblett might be the frontrunner in that department. The British star and the champ have a history dating back to an incident in 2022; the pair faced off inside the octagon following Topuria’s title win to close out this year’s International Fight Week.

“Yeah, for sure” was Arman Tsarukyan’s answer when asked whether Topuria was ducking him. But if the fight doesn’t come to pass, he’s open to names like Dan Hooker, who he was previously booked against. “If they’re not going to give me Ilia I’ll fight with Hooker, but my goal is a title fight. And right now, I’m just focusing on the title fight, because I know I deserve it, and I’m contender number one. So that fight makes sense.”

With the support of other fighters, however, as well as a good percentage of fans, Tsarukyan might get his wish just yet. “People know who is the best, who’s got to fight for the title,” he told Cageside Press. Otherwise, he suggested, the promotion runs the risk of fans hating whatever other match-up they book, “because it’s not fair for me and for other ones. People support me, and we’re going to get that title fight.”

Watch the full media appearance with Arman Tsarukyan above.

The post Arman Tsarukyan: Ilia Topuria Wants “Easy” Fight with Pimblett, Gaethje appeared first on Cageside Press.

Seems like Oliveira isn’t the only opponent he has in mind. Arman Tsarukyan will serve as the backup fighter for the main event bout which Topuria explained was not a bright idea.

“That’s a bad decision for him. I don’t know why he accepted, because you can’t come here as a backup fighter. I don’t know how did he train for this fight,” he told New York Post Sports.

“If something happens to anyone, even to me, think that there’s no possibility that something could happen with me, but who knows? No on knows what’s going to happen tomorrow. Even with Charles he would struggle a lot.”

Tsarukyan holds a win over Oliveira from when they fought at UFC 300. The victory earned him a shot at the lightweight title, but he withdrew from the fight with Islam Makhachev the day before due to weight cut issues. It was first thought that a back injury took him out of the fight.

Now he serves as the backup fighter in hopes that he can earn another shot at the belt. Topuria scoffed at the idea.

“I wouldn’t give him the chance immediately. He needs to win one more fight. He had the opportunity to fight for the title, he pulled out,” he said.

“I don’t know for what reasons but he pulled out, so he needs to win his shot again, against, I don’t know. Someone. There’s Justin Gaethje, Paddy Pimblett, many guys in the division that also deserve the shot. So they need to fight between each other.”

Tsarukyan did respond to Topuria’s comment on X saying,“You better pray nothing happens to Charles, because I’m the worst possible matchup for you in this division. There’s a reason you’re fighting the guy I already beat, and not me, for that belt.”

Guess we’ll wait and see what happens on Friday morning.

The post Ilia Topuria Scoffs At Tsarukyan Backup Role: “That’s a bad decision for him.” appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Tuesday, Hooker revealed on his daughter’s YouTube channel that he was out of the fight because he “broke his paw”. He went into a little bit more detail with Sky Sports New Zealand.

“One of the paws is not doing too well. I was sparring last night, as I do, just letting some hooks go, just throwing some bombs down range, and I just caught one of the boys on the top of the dome with my knuckle,” he told Sky Sports NZ.

“I don’t think too much of it but they sent me off to get a CT scan. Had a little CT scan and they told me my hand is fractured.”

Hooker knows that fans are disappointed in the withdrawal and chalked it up to the ‘Lords of war’ being unhappy.

“It’s unfortunate that it was this close. Obviously, gutted for all the fans that I know that were excited for this fight. That’s probably the main thing, I think. The Lords of War were not happy, and they took it away from you,” he said.

Fighters have already come out and volunteered to take his spot against Gaethje, but one did not reach out to be helpful.

Arman Tsarukyan went on X to go at Hooker. ‘Hangman’ did not hesitate in his response.

 

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“Karma doesn’t miss. Big mouth, glass hands – maybe just stick to talking instead of fighting, @danthehangman,” wrote Tsarukyan.

“If only your dad pulled out quicker than your last fight. Glass hand haha glass house,” Hooker responded.

Tsarukyan withdrew from his title challenging fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 on weigh-in day. Renato Moicano took his place in the main event.

The post Dan Hooker Reveals Injury, Arman Tsarukyan Fires On Social Media appeared first on Cageside Press.