Paddy Pimblett delivered a blunt assessment of Arman Tsarukyan\u2019s UFC 331 performance, questioning his wrestling and pointing out weaknesses despite his first-round KO win.<\/p>\n
Arman Tsarukyan stunned the MMA world with his impressive performance against Mauricio Ruffy at UFC<\/a> 331. He has probably cemented himself next for the lightweight title fight against reigning champion Justin Gaethje<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, his rival Paddy Pimblett<\/a> doesn’t seem impressed by Tsarukyan’s performance and stressed that he has seen holes in the Armenian fighting style.\u00a0<\/p>\n Paddy Pimblett questions Arman Tsarukyan\u2019s wrestling<\/p>\n Tsarukyan and Ruffy squared off in the co-main event of UFC 331 in a five-round fight. However, the Armenian star needed just one round to secure the victory. The Brazilian star showed impressive takedown defense, and the Armenian could secure a takedown.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, Tsarukyan, with his relentless pressure, trapped Ruffy against the fence and, in the clinch, landed a vicious left elbow, followed by a right elbow that left the Brazilian crashing on the canvas. The Armenian star made a statement with a brutal KO victory in the first round, proving he deserved the title shot. This spectacular victory earned him a performance-of-the-night bonus.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Pimblett does seem to be impressed and has found holes in Tsarukyan\u2019s game plan. In his recent YouTube video, the British lightweight praised the knockout but argued that \u2018Batman\u2019 showed weaknesses before finding the fight-ending elbow.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a nasty elbow, lad. Gotta give him his due, lad, as. much as I like, and that was a naughty elbow. I thought he looked pretty shit up until the point of the elbow,\u201d Pimblett said. \u201cleft eye messed up already. Wish he never landed that, just to see how the second and third would’ve went.I think that showed holes in his game.\u201d<\/p>\n Pimblett then questioned one of the biggest strengths of Tsarukyan’s game: his wrestling. \u2018The Baddy\u2019 feels the fight provided evidence that Tsarukyan may not be as dominant in that area as some suggest.<\/p>\n \u201cHis wrestling’s not as good as he thinks it is. I would’ve liked to see how that fight went on, \u00a0cos he couldn’t get Ruffy down, and over the past couple of years Ruffy hasn’t shown he’s got great takedown defense. Everyone goes on, like, Arman’s got the best wrestling in the UFC, and he showed there that he hasn’t,\u201d Pimblett continued.<\/p>\n The British fighter acknowledged the quality of the finish while explaining that the knockout caught him off guard.<\/p>\n \u201c wasn’t expecting him to knock him out at all, even if it was in the clinch with a short elbow,\u201d Pimbeltt added.\u00a0<\/p>\n Check out Paddy Pimblett\u2019s comments below:\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The verbal rivalry between Pimblett and Tsarukyan has been ongoing for a long time, with their feud evolving into one of the most intense personal rivalries in the UFC\u2019s lightweight division. Despite their animosity, \u2018Batman\u2019 seemed to impress the Brit with his knockout.\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for Arman Tsarukyan and Paddy Pimblett<\/p>\n With the KO victory, Tsarukyan extended his win streak to six and probably earned himself the title shot against Justin Gaethje.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for Paddy, in his most recent UFC outing, he submitted Benoit Saint Denis in less than a minute at UFC 329. For his next challenge, Ilia Topuria<\/a>\u2019s name has been circulating online.\u00a0<\/p>\n