Justin Gaethje versus Alexander Volkanovski is the fight getting all the attention. The real question is why Arman Tsarukyan, who has done everything the UFC ever asked of him, keeps getting stepped over for a champion who can't decide if he wants to fight again, and a featherweight who has never made weight at 155.
Dana White's explanation is that he's "waiting on Gaethje." That's just the newest version of the same stall the UFC has been running on Tsarukyan for two years.
Start with the record, because none of it's in dispute. Tsarukyan has six straight wins. In September he knocked out Mauricio Ruffy in the first round of the UFC 331 co-main event in Los Angeles. Before that he beat Dan Hooker. Before that he fought his way back after withdrawing from a title rematch with a back injury, a pullout that cost him a shot he'd already worked his way to. White's reaction then was to strip the opportunity and tell him to grind: "He's not getting a title shot, so he's going to fight his way back to the title."
So he fought his way back. And even walking into the Ruffy fight, White wouldn't give him the dignity of calling it a number-one contender bout. His line was "I hate to say that until the fight is over. Arman says a lot of things. Listen, let's see how this fight plays out."
Now listen to how White talks about Volkanovski. After Volkanovski knocked out Movsar Evloev at UFC 333, there was no hedging: "I think when you've accomplished what he has accomplished, there's not much we're going to say no to with him." One man gets "let's see how this plays out." The other gets a standing invitation. It's favoritism, and the UFC isn't even hiding it.
White wants Gaethje versus Volkanovski, a nostalgia superfight between two decorated veterans that would do big business. Tsarukyan is the backup he'll turn to only if that fight collapses. Volkanovski laid it out himself: "I do believe Arman should be fighting for the title. If Gaethje doesn't want to do that, I'll do it. I'm starting to get more excited for that than the Gaethje fight." When the guy being handed the line-jump is the one telling you the number-one contender deserves it more, the room has already made up its mind about what's fair. It just doesn't care.
The case for the superfight is real enough. Gaethje became undisputed lightweight champion in June, finishing Ilia Topuria at the UFC's White House card. He's since been nursing damage to both hands and said in August he wouldn't fight again before 2027 while he weighs retirement with his family. A farewell bout between two beloved veterans is a genuine event, and sure, Tsarukyan could get the belt once it's vacated. Fine. But that's the trick. The belt keeps being the thing dangled just out of his reach while the UFC auditions bigger names to walk past him, and "he'll get it eventually" is what they've been promising since the first snub.
This is a pattern. Tsarukyan was passed over in 2025 when Islam Makhachev vacated the 155-pound title, then again when an interim belt went up while Topuria was away. White has cited a headbutt at a staredown as one of the reasons. He keeps finding a new hoop. As of this writing, Tsarukyan says the UFC told him they'll let him know Gaethje's decision by the end of November. Even that runs on the champion's schedule.
So blame the right person. Gaethje owns a slice of this. If a champion is too banged up and too undecided to defend his belt, he shouldn't get to freeze the whole division while he sorts out his retirement with his family at his own pace. Gaethje's indecision is the excuse. Dana White controls the matchmaking, and he'd rather build a star-powered send-off than reward the fighter who did the work.
Tsarukyan earned the shot the hard way, the way White told him to. He should get the shot the second Gaethje says no, instead of getting bumped for whichever bigger name says yes first.
