{"id":417300,"date":"2026-01-16T17:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/417300\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T17:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T17:04:09","slug":"paddy-pimblett-slams-arman-tsarukyan-with-brutal-insult-hes-an-absolute-helmet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/417300\/","title":{"rendered":"Paddy Pimblett SLAMS Arman Tsarukyan With Brutal Insult: “He\u2019s An Absolute Helmet.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool lightweight Paddy Pimblett<\/a> has fired shots at top contender Arman Tsarukyan in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, dismissing rumors that he has avoided the Armenian fighter while declaring his willingness to face anyone in the division.\u200b<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople saying I\u2019m ducking Arman \u2013 I\u2019ve never been offered to fight Arman,\u201d Pimblett stated. \u201cIf I ever got offered to fight Arman, I\u2019d have punched his head in by now. He irritates me. I think he\u2019s an absolute helmet.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n

Paddy Pimblett Insults Arman Tsarukyan<\/p>\n

The British<\/a> term \u201chelmet<\/a>\u201d is slang for someone foolish or stupid, derived from references to anatomy similar to calling someone a dickhead. The insult marks the latest escalation in the brewing rivalry between Pimblett and Tsarukyan, who currently holds the number one contender spot in the lightweight division.\u200b<\/p>\n

The feud between the two fighters has intensified since Pimblett was awarded an interim title shot against Justin Gaethje at UFC 324 on January 24, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Tsarukyan, ranked number one in the division with a five-fight win streak, expressed frustration over being passed for the opportunity.\u200b<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Arman Tsarukyan Controversy<\/p>\n

Everyone knows that Paddy Pimblett is being positioned as a champion because this is his moment,\u201d Tsarukyan said following his November victory over Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar<\/a>. \u201cThey are aware<\/a> that if I face him, he will lose, and that would diminish his star power.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n

UFC president Dana White<\/a> confirmed that Tsarukyan\u2019s controversial behavior played a role in the decision. During the ceremonial weigh-in before his fight with Hooker, Tsarukyan headbutted his opponent, forcing security to intervene. In an earlier incident at UFC 300<\/a>, Tsarukyan attempted to strike a fan during his walkout, resulting in a $25,000 fine and suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.\u200b<\/p>\n

\u201cA 100 percent,\u201d White told Barstool Sports when asked if the headbutt factored into Tsarukyan being passed over for the interim title fight. \u201cA lot of things have factored in.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n

Pimblett addressed these incidents directly. \u201cHe shouldn\u2019t headbutt people at weigh-ins, then should he? And punch fans walking out,\u201d the Liverpool native said, defending his title shot over the number one contender.\u200b<\/p>\n

\"ArmanImage: @arm_011\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Paddy Pimblett UFC 324<\/p>\n

The interim lightweight championship bout at UFC 324<\/a> comes after current champion Ilia Topuria announced he would not compete in the first quarter of 2026 due to personal reasons. The Georgian-Spanish fighter, who holds a 17-0 professional record, claimed the lightweight title by knocking out Charles Oliveira<\/a> at UFC 317 in June 2025 after previously holding the featherweight championship.\u200b<\/p>\n

Pimblett enters UFC 324 with a perfect 7-0 record in the UFC and an overall nine-fight win streak. His most recent victory came in April 2025 when he stopped former Bellator<\/a> lightweight champion Michael Chandler by third-round technical knockout at UFC 314, breaking into the top five of the lightweight rankings.\u200b<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got the longest win streak in the division and Justin Gaethje<\/a> is a perennial contender, he\u2019s an absolute legend,\u201d Pimblett explained in the MMA Junkie interview. \u201cI think they thought it was the right fight to make at the time. We\u2019re not running around punching fans walking out and head-kicking fighters at weigh-ins. I can understand why we\u2019re getting it and some certain others aren\u2019t.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n

The 30-year-old British fighter expressed confidence about facing any challenger, including Tsarukyan, after his potential bout with Gaethje. \u201cSo yeah, I\u2019d fight Arman,\u201d Pimblett said. \u201cIf Ilia can\u2019t come back by June, July, then he needs stripping. He\u2019s slowing the division down. I\u2019ll defend against Arman or Max or Charles or whoever, I don\u2019t care.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n

\"PaddyMIAMI, FLORIDA \u2013 APRIL 12: Paddy Pimblett of England prepares to face Michael Chandler<\/a> in a lightweight bout during the UFC 314 event at Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Regarding Topuria, Pimblett acknowledged respect for the champion\u2019s abilities while maintaining his confidence. \u201cAs for Ilia, it\u2019s like fate. It was meant to happen because all that was just over nothing, but now we just dislike each other. I respect him as a fighter \u2013 I think he\u2019s a brilliant fighter, he\u2019s number two pound-for-pound behind Islam for me \u2013 but I want to beat him. I want to show everyone why we have weight divisions and that he\u2019s just too small to beat me.\u201d\u200b<\/p>\n

Tsarukyan has remained active outside the octagon<\/a> while waiting for his next opportunity. He competed in professional grappling events and won a freestyle wrestling match at RAF 5 in January 2026, dominating former PFL champion Lance Palmer by technical fall. The Armenian fighter has indicated he will travel to Las Vegas as an alternate for UFC 324 in case either main event competitor withdraws.\u200b<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m available,\u201d Tsarukyan said. \u201cI\u2019m in great shape. If the UFC calls me, I\u2019ll be ready to fight.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liverpool lightweight Paddy Pimblett has fired shots at top contender Arman Tsarukyan in a recent interview with MMA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-417300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}