Paddy Pimblett Goes Off on UFC Rival in Most Vicious Rant Yet
Paddy Pimblett went off in a furious rant about one of his UFC rivals at the promotion's seasonal press conference.
The UFC gathered their main-event stars for its first three major cards of 2026 ahead of the UFC 323 ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday.
The likes of Kayla Harrison, Amanda Nunes, Alexander Volkanovski, Diego Lopes, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira were all in attendance ahead of their respective title bouts next year.
Not to mention Pimblett and Justin Gaethje, who headline the UFC's first event on Paramount following their whopping $7.7 billion media rights deal.
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But before 'The Baddy' took to the stage, he conducted an interview with Full Send MMA and put Arman Tsarukyan on blast.
Pimblett slammed Tsarukyan's win over Beneil Dariush and disagreed with the decision to award him the victory against Oliveira.
Pimblett also ripped into the Armenian's recent win over Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar last month in a stinging outburst.
"People talk about my last three wins, like, okay Tony Ferguson was on his way out but Dariush looks about 65. He’s got a full head of grey hair, he beat Dariush," he began.
"He didn’t beat Charles Oliveira, a lot of people didn’t think he won that fight. On his way out of the cage, he punched a fan. Got banned."
Pimblett also referenced Tsarukyan's run-in with a fan at UFC 300, adding: "UFC probably had to pay a huge f**king fee for the fella not to sue them. He then got his title shot and 'oh I’ve got a bad back', he f**king got beat by back pain when really he probably just couldn’t make weight.
“Sits out for f**king 11 months, got offered a fight against [Mateusz] Gamrot and says no. If I got offered a fight against someone who has beaten me, I’d be taking that fight immediately. Then fights Dan Hooker, headbutts him at the weigh in, nearly ruined another main event.
“You can understand why he’s not in that position and as much as I like Dan Hooker, he’s sound - he’s sh*t. He can’t grapple to save his life, he can’t grapple if his mam’s life depended on it. If I had that guillotine on Arman, he’s going unconscious. If Dan Hooker is nearly guillotining you, you’re sh*t at jits."
Tsarukyan was overlooked for the interim UFC lightweight title as Ilia Topuria sits out the first quarter of 2026 due to personal reasons.
The UFC opted for Pimblett and Gaethje, with the winner in line to unify the division against Topuria.
As for Tsarukyan, he could be sidelined for a period of time given that most of the top contenders are tied up, unless he fights a lesser-ranked opponent.
Topics: Paddy Pimblett, UFC
Nasir Jabbar