Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Arman Tsarukyan during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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Arman Tsarukyan Targets Ilia Topuria Following Explosive UFC Qatar Performance!

Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Arman Tsarukyan during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Sitting out for extended periods can derail a fighter’s momentum completely. The sport moves fast with new contenders emerging every month. Rankings shuffle constantly as underdogs pull off upsets regularly. Missing time means missing opportunities to stake your claim. Some fighters never recover from long layoffs between important bouts. Arman Tsarukyan faced exactly that challenge heading into UFC Qatar.

The Armenian contender hadn’t fought since defeating Charles Oliveira at UFC 300. That victory happened way back in April last year. 1 year 7 months of inactivity creates serious rust for elite-level competition. Questions lingered about whether he had maintained his sharpness during the break. But he showcased why he is the #1 contender at UFC Qatar.

Tsarukyan looked absolutely phenomenal against Hooker from the opening bell. He mixed clean strikes with a relentless pace immediately. The New Zealander tried testing him early but found no success. A failed takedown attempt actually worked in Tsarukyan’s favor surprisingly. Hooker moved to escape and Arman caught him with a rising knee. The shot rocked the City Kickboxing fighter badly. Hooker jumped on a guillotine choke attempt in round one desperately. But Tsarukyan slipped out easily and took top control position.

ARMAN TSARUKYAN SUBMITS DAN HOOKER IN THE SECOND ROUND!!!

WHAT A PERFORMANCE #UFCQatar pic.twitter.com/LzusBUNzbl
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 22, 2025

Round two began with Hooker trying the same guillotine strategy again. The result was identical to the first attempt unfortunately. Tsarukyan passed into a dominant position and began breaking Hooker down. Punches and elbows rained down on the Kiwi fighter relentlessly. Once Tsarukyan created enough space, he slid into an arm triangle smoothly. The grip locked tightly around Hooker’s neck immediately. The pressure only grew stronger with each passing second. Hooker eventually tapped at 3:34 of round two after realizing escape was impossible.

Arman Tsarukyan Makes A Championship Callout

Tsarukyan didn’t waste any time making his intentions clear afterward. He grabbed the microphone during his post-fight interview confidently. He thanked Hooker for being the only lightweight that agreed to fight him. Then came the direct challenge to the lightweight champion himself.

“Ilia, if you’re here, come on. There is just one contender number one. It’s Arman Tsarukyan. Everybody knows I’ve got to fight for the title. I’m ready. End of January, send me contract, I’ll be there.”

The Armenian’s confidence was absolutely sky-high after that performance. He credited his work ethic and dedication to the sport. This victory extended his winning streak to 5 consecutive fights. It also marked 10 wins in his last 11 UFC appearances. The only blemish was a controversial split decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot. Tsarukyan had previously lost a title shot opportunity due to injury. But his Qatar performance showed zero signs of lost momentum.

(Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas – Imagn Images)

Arman Tsarukyan

Dan Hooker

Ilia Topuria

UFC Qatar

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!