Many see the UFC's treatment of , believes it's within reason.
Tsarukyan has been sitting as the No. 1 contender in the UFC lightweight division for over two years, and he's yet to fight for the title. In January 2025, Tsarukyan was supposed to challenge at UFC 300 in a bout that was labeled as a "title eliminator" by the promotion.
Despite his standing, Gaethje questions Tsarukyan's withdrawal from the Makhachev title bout and understands why the UFC hasn't put him in another title fight.
"He's also been doing so much to not fight for the title," Gaethje told . "Come on, we all make our own bed. He was going to fight Islam Makhachev for the belt, and he dropped out the night before. "
Gaethje believes Tsarukyan didn't suffer an injury. Instead, he was struggling to make 155 pounds and refused to continue cutting the weight unless paid more money. Tsarukyan has missed weight only once in his 12 fights in the UFC.
"The truth is that he wasn't going to make weight, so he dropped out. Of course, that's true. Of course," Gaethje said. "If it was his back, and there was a medical report from the UFC then he wouldn't be suffering like this. But I'm just speculating. I'm totally speculating. There is no way that he truly hurt his back cutting weight. How the f*ck do you do that? For one, maybe his body was shutting down and couldn't make the weight, which happens. "
Gaethje plans to sit out for the rest of 2026 as he needs to recover from injuries from his title-winning performance against Ilia Topuria at the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House. Gaethje could end up facing Tsarukyan in 2027 should Tsarukyan beat Mauricio Ruffy next week at UFC 331. But the UFC would have to be willing to award him with a title shot.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: