Arman Tsarukyan responds to 'jealous' Ilia Topuria's scathing remarks

Arman Tsarukyan responded to Ilia Topuria's recent scathing comments with a few harsh words of his own.

Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) heard what Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) said about his abilities inside the cage and his social media presence outside of it. Topuria recently stated that Tsarukyan "looks like a kid" during his live streams, even bluntly labeling him "dumb as f*ck."

According to the top lightweight contender, Tsarukyan believes the champ envies him and would avoid a fight if the UFC offered.

"He's jealous," Tsarukyan said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "Then he wants to say I'm nothing, and if UFC offer me him, he's not gonna take it because he wants to tell everyone in this world I'm not in his level. He was saying (Charles) Oliveira is good fighter, (Justin) Gaethje good fighter, Max Holloway good fighter, but he didn't say anything about me. How can it be? It's just a joke, you know?"

Topuria's comments didn't make much sense to Tsarukyan, because the lightweight champ didn't explain why he felt that way.

"If you say something, you got to answer why, right?" Tsarukyan said. "... He said, 'I don't know.' So, he's the stupid guy, not me, because he doesn't even know like why I'm retard or dumb as f*ck."

In what could all end up being early fight promotion, Tsarukyan criticized Topuria for wanting to immediately move up to welterweight after his scheduled title unification bout against Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250. Topuria has his eyes on capturing a third title, which would require defeating welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. While Tsarukyan acknowledges that this would be a huge accomplishment for Topuria's legacy, he's confident that matchup would result in a return to lightweight.

"If he moves up, it's OK," Tsarukyan said. "He's gonna move up and Islam's gonna kick his ass, and he's gonna come down, and then I kick his ass, and the UFC just release him."

Tsarukyan hasn't fought in the UFC since submitting Dan Hooker in November. However, he's stayed busy by frequently competing in wrestling and grappling events to stay sharp while earning paychecks outside of the UFC. If and when Topuria agrees to fight him, Tsarukyan plans to prove he is on Topuria's level, taking his title in the process.

"We'll see when the fight happens," Tsarukyan said. "We'll see how I'm not gonna take him down. I can take down anybody. About that he's gonna break my jaw: whatever he wants to do. Just accept the fight. Why you ducking if you're super confident you can beat me so easy in the first round? So, just sign the contract after this fight, and don't move up and stay there – because I'm easy fight, why you wanna move up?

"... He behaves like he's untouchable and a superstar, but he's not. I'm gonna bring back on the earth."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Arman Tsarukyan responds to Ilia Topuria: 'Just accept the fight'