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Did Arman Tsarukyan just get himself pushed even further down the contender list while generating headlines with a wrestling mat brawl? Are Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira getting less attention than they deserve for the UFC 326 BMF title fight? And which fighter would you most (and least) want to have to defuse after a few too many at the local watering hole?

All that and more in this week’s mailbag. To ask a question of your own, hit up @BenFowlkesMMA on X or @Ben_Fowlkes on Threads.

@ewillcock: So Arman went and had himself a fun weekend at Real American Freestyle.

Do you think his post matchbehavior will help or hinder him going forward with the UFC?

They say any publicity is good publicity, and usually that's true in pro fighting. But I can’t see it helping here. When people are already looking at you like you’re a liability they don’t trust with the responsibility of a headlining title fight, you don’t do yourself any favors by acting like a man who cannot control himself.

It’s also not like the UFC has any particular reason to overlook those risks right now. A lightweight title unifier between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje would play better with the casual fans and also make a certain degree of sense, plus it wouldn’t ask the UFC to potentially put the 155-pound belt on a guy who seems like he’s always a hair trigger away from new assault charges every time he leaves the house. Starting brawls at wrestling events might be good for the social media profile, but it doesn’t exactly make you look like Mr. Dependable.

@zainbando99: Ben, it feels like there isn't as much buzz for this March's Vegas-numbered UFC event as there has been in the past. Have you noticed this, and do you actually think the UFC is putting its eggs in one basket for the White House card, or is there something we don't know?

If we’re not holding back title fights for the sake of that White House card, then what are we doing? There is so little on the calendar at this point that the only acceptable explanation is a big blow-off event in June soaking up all the big fights. The alternative is that the UFC is simply not booking title fights, which would make no sense at all, especially in the first few months of a new broadcast deal, when you’d expect there to be a big push for new subscribers.

UFC 326 is actually a solid card, thanks mostly to what Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira bring to the table as former champs. But there’s a whole lot of people with UFC gold right now waiting on assignments. If we’re not saving them up for one special night, then someone has a lot of explaining to do.

@ElMexicanZombie: Top underdog pick?

Reinier de Ridder. I know he looked bad against Brendan Allen, but his post-fight excuse/explanation (exclanation? expluse?) is one I’m actually inclined to believe. He looked like a man who kept his foot on the gas in the gym for too long and didn’t have it come fight night. I still think he’s a deceptively dangerous fighter in this division and can spoil some parties for those who aren’t prepared to combat his tricky style.

@meek_nhercheeks: You have to calm down one of these ufc fighters who is belligerently drunk at the bar. Who are you choosing between Khamzat, Arman or McGregor?

This is a genuinely difficult question. Both Khamzat Chimaev and Arman Tsarukyan seem like they would be very willing and able to slam me through the sticky floor of any local tavern. Conor McGregor seems like he’d be more likely to hit me with the classic Ibiza sucker punch and then wait for security to drag me (and somehow not him) out the front door.

When faced with these choices, I’ll take McGregor. If that distinguished gentleman he punched in the Dublin bar that time could eat the punch and go right back to his pint, I’m betting I could too.

@nickj812: Does the lack of current US UFC champions pose a problem for matchmakers of the WH card?

Presumably there will a high expectation of local success which possibly explains the reemergence of Jonny Bones who would probably start favourite.

Dana White has said he doesn’t plan to make this a USA vs. The World fight card. That’s good, because right now it looks like The World would win. It also wouldn’t work all that well if the goal is to put on an event with a ton of UFC title fights, since there are only a couple American champs and not many more American contenders in or near the top spot.

Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira feels like a must for this card now. And, even after seeing him get burned on a post route in a celebrity flag football game, I still favor Jones and his creaky, arthritic hips over Pereira, based purely on stylistic differences. If getting a win for America is important here, that's just one more reason to make this fight.

@MGriffe3: This is the second straight numbered card with no women's bouts. Is this a talent/marketability issue or a UFC decision or other?

All the women’s divisions seem to be experiencing a bit of a lull right now. That’s a bummer, but it happens. This is why it’s even more surprising to me that the UFC passed on a chance to make that Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano fight. Outside of Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes, there isn’t much on the women’s side of the sport right now that I see really exciting fans. Rousey and Carano might not be a very relevant fight for the sport in 2026, but at least it would have been a short-term shot of adrenaline. Instead we get this budget approach to matchmaking, which is a lot less fun for the fans.