Ilia Topuria is running from Arman Tsarukyan, says ex-UFC champion: "He is threatened"

Reigning UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria is seemingly game for anything, including a move up to welterweight, except fighting Arman Tsarukyan. This has led a former champion to believe 'El Matador' is consciously running from 'Ahalkalakets'.Speaking on the JAXXON podcast, former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw argued that the Georgian-born Spaniard is threatened by Tsarukyan's formidable MMA repertoire even though Topuria himself is one of the most skilled fighters on the roster:"I do think so [Topuria is running from Arman]. I do think Ilia is the highest-skilled fighter in the UFC right now, but I do think he is threatened by Arman. Arman is big and strong. He is great at the weight class. His boxing is clean, great grappling. It's a tough fight for him, to where he can go to 170 [pounds], maybe he doesn't get the win, it doesn't make sense to me."Topuria has time and time again snubbed the idea of fighting Tsarukyan, even threatening to vacate the title if the promotion forced him to defend against the Russian.Furthermore, 'El Matador' appears more eager to chase the newly crowned welterweight champion, Islam Makhachev, rather than facing the No.1-ranked lightweight contender.Nevertheless, the 28-year-old has gotten his way. With the promotion announcing an interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett for UFC 324, he likely won't have to deal with Tsarukyan anytime soon.Dana White has confirmed that the winner of the UFC 324 headliner will be next in line for a crack at 'El Matador's' lightweight throne.Ilia Topuria announces MMA hiatusEven with the UFC scheduling an interim lightweight bout early next year, the 155-pound division is in for a slowdown as champion Ilia Topuria is set to go into an MMA hiatus.Earlier this week, 'El Matador' announced that he'd be out of action for the first quarter of 2026 as he is dealing with some personal issues. In a post on X, Topuria wrote:"I won’t be fighting in the first quarter of next year. I’m going through a difficult moment in my personal life. I want to focus on my children and resolve this situation as soon as possible. I don’t want to hold up the division. The UFC will make the matchups needed, and as soon as the matters are resolved, I'll let the UFC know I'm ready to begin my return."Rumors of a divorce between Topuria and his wife have been swirling on social media ever since his partner deleted all their photos together from her social media accounts.