9/22/26
The lightweight division has been among the fiercest and most skilled in all of the UFC for the last five years. The constant battle for who is the true number one contender in the world is constantly changing. There are 5-6 fighters in the division who refuse to leave the top five rankings because no one under them can defeat them; the top five all just fight each other over and over again. As of right now, Justin Gaethje is the undisputed lightweight champion after his legendary win over Ilia Topuria, and now there are at least four fighters who are in contention for the belt that Justin has already fought. One new contender stands out, and after his last performance, he should be next, but Gaethje holds the power right now, so his next fight is up in the air.
Arman Tsarukyan
Arman Tsarukyan is the true number one contender in the division, and for most fans it isn’t close. Although he is a controversial figure in the company and has been on Dana White’s bad side for the last two years, he proves time and time again that he is not to be denied. His brutal round-one knockout of Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 added another name to his already impressive resume. Arman earned his title shot after his defeat of Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 but when set to face then champion Islam Makhachev, he missed weight and almost ruined the card.
This was almost two years ago and although he has only fought twice since then, both were dominant performances and finishes. He has also rebranded himself on social media and has become a fighter than many fans enjoy watching and rooting for. The most compelling argument for him to fight for the belt next is that he has never fought Justin Gaethje before while everyone else under him and even one above him in the rankings has. He poses a dangerous threat on the ground while also showing his skill and power in the striking. A fight between them two would be chaos in the best way. He will likely be next for the belt but there are some other names lurking as well.
Ilia Topuria
While Ilia Topuria did just lose to Gaethje in his last fight by round four TKO, many believe that he has done enough prior to that fight to warrant a rematch. He was undefeated before the Gaethje fight and was a two-division champion. He also knocked out three future UFC Hall of Famers and former champions in a row: Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira. His run to claim the two belts was as dominant as the UFC has ever seen, and even in the Gaethje fight, he almost TKO’d him in the second round.
Ilia is no doubt one of the best in the world, if not the best, and one loss doesn’t change that fact. The only question is did he do enough in the lightweight division specifically to push others out of the way of a title shot? Gaethje doesn’t think so and has said that he is not interested in fighting Gaethje again. It will be up to the match makers in if Ilia gets his shot at redemption.
Charles Oliveira
Charles Oliveira has once again gone on a run to potentially warrant a title shot after his dismantling of Max Holloway in his last fight. Oliveira is a former champion who beat Justin Gaethje already during that run, although a missed weight cut made the fight a number one contender bout. Their first fight was one of the craziest first rounds of all time, with both knocking each other down and dealing big damage. Oliveira successfully submitted Gaethje, though, which is a loss Gaethje wants back.
Oliveira has been a top-three lightweight for years and is one of the most exciting and beloved fighters in the sport. He is truly the elite of the elite and continues to prove it every fight. The only reason he would skip over someone like Arman Tsarukyan is that Gaethje has said that he wants to fight Oliveira to avenge his previous loss to him. If Gaethje has any say or power over who he fights next, he will choose Oliveira over a lot of other fighters.
Max Holloway
While Max Holloway has much less of a chance than the fighters in front of him, he is another person that Gaethje would gladly let skip the line. Holloway knocked Gaethje out in probably the craziest and most iconic KO in the history of the sport at UFC 300. For Gaethje, being on the receiving end of a sport-defining moment like that is something he needs to get revenge for. Holloway is one of the greatest featherweights of all time, but since moving up to lightweight, he has looked as good as ever.
Holloway is coming off a win over Conor McGregor, but it doesn’t mean much since McGregor tore his ACL two seconds into the fight and the fight was called off. Before that, he was dominated by Charles Oliveira for five rounds. He needs one more impressive win before he gets a title shot, but again, Gaethje would happily let Holloway skip the line to even things up between the two.
Paddy Pimblet
While Paddy Pimblet has to get at least one more win before even being in the conversation for getting another title shot, he did have a competitive fight against Justin Gaethje for the interim belt earlier this year. Then at UFC 329, he delivered one of the best finishes of the year and a submission of all time just seconds into his fight with Benoit St Dennis, which proved that Pimblet is one of the elite. He obviously won’t be fighting for the belt next, but if his next fight is against Ilia Topuria, which many speculate it will be, and he gets a win, he launches back up the ladder. Easier said than done, but Pimblet is one of the most popular fighters in the sport, and a win or two could see him fighting for the undisputed lightweight championship soon enough.