Tsarukyan: I 'accepted' Gaethje fight but UFC didn't want catchweight

Lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan says he agreed to fight Justin Gaethje on short notice, but it didn't come to fruition because the UFC wasn't able to grant him his request of a catchweight bout.

Tsarukyan said Thursday morning on X that he accepted the matchup "immediately" after Dan Hooker withdrew from the UFC 313 co-main event earlier this week because of an injury. Tsarukyan said he wanted to square off with Gaethje at a catchweight of 160 pounds - in between the lightweight and welterweight divisions - because of the short-notice nature of the fight.

"I didn't say no," Tsarukyan wrote. "I accepted immediately and asked for a 160-pound catchweight 11 days out from weigh-ins. UFC said that wasn't an option."

UFC CEO Dana White announced Wednesday that Rafael Fiziev was stepping in to face Gaethje in a rematch at the March 8 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Gaethje said Wednesday night on X that several people - including Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, and Dustin Poirier - turned down the short-notice bout before Fiziev ultimately replaced Hooker.

However, Poirier also refuted Gaethje's claim, saying he reached out to the UFC when he heard Gaethje needed an opponent.

"I never got the call," Poirier wrote Thursday morning on X. "I didn't say no."

Soon after in another post, Poirier wrote, "I'm the one who reached out to them when I read the news. Ask (UFC chief business officer) Hunter (Campbell). All respect to (Gaethje) and Fiziev, looking forward to this one again."

Tsarukyan is the No. 1-ranked contender in the 155-pound division. He was scheduled to challenge Islam Makhachev for the title at UFC 311 in January, but he withdrew from the fight on weigh-in day because of a back injury. The 28-year-old is riding a four-fight winning streak.

UFC 313 will feature a light heavyweight title fight between champion Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.