Backup Fighter Revealed for Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje Fight on UFC White House Card

Arman Tsarukyan is on standby if a replacement is needed for the UFC White House main event.

Appearing on Nina Drama's Kick Stream (h/t Jed Meshew and Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting), UFC president Dana White confirmed Tsarukyan is the backup option if either Ilia Topuria or Justin Gaethje are unable to compete for whatever reason.

"Arman is the backup for the White House fight," White said. "So, if anything happens to that fight, Arman's in there."

This does represent at least some level of regained trust from White toward Tsarukyan after a contentious 2025 between the two sides.

Tsarukyan was set to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship at UFC 311, but he announced the day before the card that he had to withdraw from the bout due to a back injury.

White has disputed there was any injury, saying in June during the UFC 317 post-show press conference that Tsarukyan pulled out of the fight because he wasn't going to make weight (starts at 20:15 mark).

"Well, it's not about getting back in the good graces… [Tsarukyan] had the opportunity to fight for the title and didn't make weight," White said.

Tsarukyan again drew the ire of White and UFC management when he headbutted Dan Hooker during weigh-ins prior to their main-event bout on a Nov. 22 Fight Night card.

When UFC booked an interim lightweight title match for UFC 324 in January, Tsarukyan was bypassed in favor of Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett.

White acknowledged that Tsarukyan's past behavior, including the incident with Hooker, played a role in him not getting put in that spot.

Tsarukyan is 10-2 in 12 career UFC fights, with five consecutive wins since a unanimous decision loss to Mateusz Gamrot in June 2022. Three of his five wins during this streak have been via stoppage, including a submission victory over Hooker.

Topuria and Gaethje will headline the UFC White House show to determine the undisputed lightweight champion. The event will be held on June 14 from the south lawn at the White House.