Arman Tsarukyan has no patience for conspiracy theories.
“"Just excuses. You got to accept what really happened. You got to start with what you did wrong. Not finding excuses and talking about gloves."”
When Ilia Topuria suggested that Justin Gaethje had "weird things" in his gloves during their UFC Freedom 250 lightweight title fight in June, Tsarukyan dismissed the accusation outright — and pointed the finger back at the former champion. "Just excuses," Tsarukyan told Carlos Contreras Legaspi. "How can the commission let [Gaethje] wear different gloves? They stay in, check. Just excuses. You got to accept what really happened. You got to start with what you did wrong. Not finding excuses and talking about gloves."
Topuria's claim has been the talk of the MMA world since the Georgian-Spanish star posted on X on September 16, freshly medically cleared and angling for a rematch, writing that next time he'd make sure officials check Gaethje's gloves so the champion "doesn't put anything weird" in them. It was a startling accusation for a simple reason: Gaethje stopped Topuria after four brutal rounds at Freedom 250 — a beating that left "El Matador" with both orbital bones broken and his unbeaten record gone.
The commission isn't having it either. Regulator Andy Foster has already confirmed that Gaethje's gloves were fully within regulations, and Gaethje himself fired back, scolding Topuria for taking this long to come up with an excuse. The irony is thick: one of Gaethje's defining traits, praised even by Khabib Nurmagomedov, is that he does this kind of damage to everyone — loaded gloves or not.
Tsarukyan, of course, has his own history with Topuria and clearly relished the moment. But he's got bigger business in front of him: the Armenian returned to the Octagon in the UFC 331 co-main event against Mauricio Ruffy, where he backed up his talk in emphatic fashion — knocking out Ruffy with elbows at 4:56 of the first round, per UFC's official scorecards, and stamping himself as the man next in line for the lightweight crown.
As for Topuria, the gloves theory has done him no favors. A gracious former champion talks rematch. A conspiracy theorist gives Arman Tsarukyan a punchline. Topuria needs to pick one — and the commission, the film, and the top of the division have already made their pick for him.
