Arman Tsarukyan has become the new king of combat sports side missions. In his latest venture back to the mat at RAF, Chalukian’s wrestling match with George Porras made headlines this past weekend for being more akin to MMA than anyone expected.
After debuting at RAF in January with a dominant win over Lance Palmer, the No. 2 UFC lightweight contender got even hotter in his second bout at RAF 6, when he and Prass got into an all-out team-on-team brawl after a wrestling match at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday. Tsarukyan, 29, explained the backstory behind the now-hot scene on Monday’s edition of “The Ariel Helwani Show.”
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“His game plan was just [to] fighting during [match]to create hype, he wanted to do it because of the actual situation [wrestlers]Like a natural wrestler, never do that,” Tsarukyan told Uncrowned. “Because it’s disrespectful and the referee can call you out, but this referee just takes points off him. But he punched [me] Twice – one time he did it and they said, ‘If you do that one more time, we won’t let you wrestle anymore. [match].’The referee is still waiting for him; [trying to] Knock me down.
“[Poullas] knew he had to stop this wrestling [match]first of all because he lost. Secondly, he can’t beat me. third [of all]if he loses, he has to pay me because we have an agreement – whoever wins gets the money. he’s coming [before the match] And said, oh, if I win, I’ll get $25,000; if he wins, he’ll get $50,000. I said, ‘Are you stupid or something, man?’ What are you talking about? ‘You come to the casino and say, ‘Listen, I’m betting $100,000.’ If I win, I’ll get $200,000. If I lose, I give you $50,000. “Brother, come on. I said, ‘We’ve got different pockets. Let’s keep it under $10,000,’ and we just shook hands, but I haven’t seen my money yet.” “
Tsarukyan’s fight with Poullas was intense from start to finish, but things really escalated at the end, with Tsarukyan slamming Poullas with an illegal punch shortly after the buzzer.
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“Maybe 20 times, he tried to poke me in the eye and break my finger,” Tsarukyan said. “I always share it with the referee and the referee shouldn’t [handle it like] That.
“I thought he would [be trying to] wrestling, but when he started throwing punches, I said, ‘Okay, this guy wants to fight and call it off.’ Doing, like, dirty wrestling. …I’m waiting for this wrestling [to be] It was over, at that moment I really wanted to hit him immediately. Like, I won wrestling and I heard the whistle and I was like, ‘Okay, now it’s time. Because I won. But if I had done that before, I wouldn’t have won. “
The drama and competition are perfect for a promotion like RAF, an amateur wrestling league founded by pro wrestling royalty Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. Numerous MMA celebrities have been key figures in the company’s six events to date. Although Tsarukyan and Plath ended the fight on undecided terms – despite Tsarukyan officially winning – it opened the door to a rematch that was an easy sell.
However, Charukian doesn’t have much interest in trying to get things back.
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Instead, he would rather invite Plath to his gym for a head-to-head fight.
“He had to say, ‘Thank you so much, Aman. You made my name even bigger,'” Tsarukian said.
“I want to fight him, and then I want to train with him in MMA. I want to pay him and say, ‘Let’s train together.'”
“Whatever he wants. I don’t want to do it for the hype. I just want to do it for myself and kick his ass. He’s going to pay for it. I’m just doing it [it] For myself and for fun. This is a bulls*** guy – I can’t fight [him in UFC]right in the gym. Kick his ass in the gym. “
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Chalukya has quickly amassed a questionable history with his antics since his victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in 2024. The potential lightweight title challenger got into a scuffle with a fan at the same event and was subsequently suspended for nine months and fined $25,000. Charukian was supposed to return in time for a fight against then-champion Islam Makhachev in early 2025, but a last-minute back injury forced him to withdraw. Tsarukyan has yet to challenge for the UFC’s 155-pound title since then.
Tsarukyan made his triumphant return with a second-round submission win over Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar last November. But even so, the fight was controversial when Charukian head-butted Hooker during the weigh-in ceremony, which Hooker claimed resulted in a broken nose. Chalukian denied Hooker’s claims, countering that the injuries were injuries he inflicted during the fight.
Although Chalukian is undefeated in his last five fights, he was knocked out of the interim title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 in January. Gaethje won, setting up a future clash with UFC champion Ilia Topuria. Meanwhile, the BMF lightweight title is back on the table this Saturday at UFC 326 when Max Holloway takes on Oliveira.
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Tsarukyan said he will participate in this weekend’s tilt event. He feels he has a good relationship with UFC brass, including UFC CBO Hunter Campbell, with whom he recently discussed future options over the phone. Tsarukyan is open to having two titles up for grabs (the UFC lightweight belt and the BMF ceremonial title) and isn’t concerned that his recent scrimmage could go awry.
“It’s not my fault. Everyone is on my side now,” Tsarukian said. “They must be happy that UFC fighters don’t let others beat them. UFC fighters, No. 1, win in freestyle wrestling, beat freestyle wrestlers and show the level of the UFC.
“I’ve spoken to Hunter a few weeks ago. We have a few options… [An option was to] After Justin, fight for the 155 championship in September or October.
“I’m just wrestling [in the meantime]. I don’t mind. Maybe fighting, wrestling, RAF, maybe some new promotions. We’ll see.
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“[The UFC] Says keep doing what you’re doing,” he added. “So I guess that’s good. “