Paddy Pimblett points out ‘holes’ in Arman Tsarukyan’s game despite knockout win

Paddy Pimblett criticised Arman Tsarukyan and pointed out weaknesses in his game despite an impressive UFC 331 knockout win.

Tsarukyan boosted his hopes of another UFC lightweight title shot with a dramatic first-round knockout of Mauricio Ruffy at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.

The Armenian UFC star was highly praised by the MMA fans and pundits for his performance, which could help him fight for the gold in the lightweight division.

Tsarukyan stopped Ruffy with just four seconds remaining in the opening round, landing a left elbow to the face from a clinch before following up with a right elbow as the Brazilian fell to the canvas.

However, Pimblett, who was a contender for a title shot against Ilia Topuria but lost to Justin Gaethje in an interim UFC lightweight championship bout at UFC 324 on January 24, 2026, is not impressed with Arman Tsarukyan’s performance.

"You’ve got to give him his due — as much as I don’t like him, that was a naughty elbow," Pimblett said on his YouTube channel.

“But I think he looked pretty [expletive deleted] until that elbow. His eyes were messed up already.

"I wish he never landed [the elbow], just to see how the second and the third rounds would have gone… when they separated with 15 seconds to go, Ruffy should’ve tried to put it on him.

“That was a statement, but I’d still punch [Tsarukyan’s] head in, though."

The victory extended Tsarukyan’s winning streak to six fights and strengthened his case for a return to title contention.

The Armenian had been scheduled to challenge for the lightweight title in January 2025 but withdrew a day before the bout because of injury. He was later overlooked twice for title fights.

UFC president Dana White previously said Tsarukyan would have to work his way back into title contention after his late withdrawal.