George Porras doesn’t feel defeated. He felt inspired.
Just days removed from his controversial match against top UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan at RAF 6 Wrestling, Prass joined Tuesday’s edition of “The Ariel Helwani Show” with a clear message: There’s no feud, just unfinished business. For all the online drama and viral back-and-forth that came with the match and the viral post-fight brawl, Prath insists much of the noise was just promotional theatrics.
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“I think Aman is a cool guy,” Plath told The Uncrowded. “We talked before the game and we made some video clips. I have nothing against the guy. I think he’s a good guy. We talk about our conversations. He has his opinion, I have mine. But these clips are just social media, they are for the fans. They want to see those interactions. We are hyping the game. It’s all entertainment, it’s all business, that’s what we do. But, yeah, Aman and I talked a lot before the game. He’s a cool guy and I’m a fan of his.
“I would say he thought he was going to win and I thought I was going to win. We had things to say but I didn’t feel any tension or hostility. [before the match]. I think that’s totally fine. “
As soon as the whistle blew, the tone changed.
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What was billed as a crossover wrestling match between a Division I wrestler and one of MMA’s most powerful lightweights quickly became controversial. Tsarukyan may have won by a score of 5-3, but it was not without controversy, at least in Plath’s view, over penalties, physicality and officiating, with an already intense match ending in an all-out brawl between both wrestlers that featured multiple open-handed slaps, eye pokes and clubbings to the head.
Plath believes the results don’t reflect what’s actually happening on the mat.
“Look, man, at the end of the day, wrestling is a sport — you know what? You put me in the ring with any other D-1 wrestler, I don’t think those are called the same,” Plath said.
“I did poke him in the eye, but I’ll tell you, it wasn’t intentional. I’ve never tried to wrestle on purpose. That’s not who I am. I think Aman is just not used to wrestling at the D-1 level. You’re collared, you’re bare-handed, and I don’t think he’s ever had that kind of pressure in a match. I was swinging hard, I was trying to put my opponent in trouble. “Underhook, I think he didn’t know how to react.
“He had a bad temper, but he let it get to him,” Plath continued. “That clip, I did poke him in the eye, but like I said, it wasn’t intentional. I didn’t do it on purpose. I hit him with a stick, I was wrestling, I was grappling. If you watch me wrestle in these matches, you go back and watch [Keelon] ‘Muji’ [Jimison] Game – I’m playing hard. That’s what I do. This is legal in the sport. The only reason the refs rated him was because he cried like a little bastard. I mean, honestly. He put his hands up, hands up, hands up. I mean, man, this is wrestling. What are you doing? You should be a strong UFC fighter. Wrestle with me bro he just cried to the referee. that referee [had] Marry an Armenian, as he puts it, because he gave Charukian that game.
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“If you look at that game, I won that game. I missed some penalties, which is nonsense. The referee didn’t give me a penalty point. He slapped me with open hands and I didn’t get a point. He did it many times and the referee never gave me a point, but he gave him a point every time.”
In a nutshell, Plath’s argument was simple: Chalukian’s dirty tactics were, in Plath’s opinion, standard Division I wrestling physicality. tie. Hard club. Merciless hand-to-hand combat. For those accustomed to the rule sets associated with MMA, this grinding pressure can blur the lines.
“If you don’t know wrestling, then you might think I wrestle dirty, but watch me,” Plath said. “I’m a physical wrestler and if you can’t handle it, get off the mat, man. Don’t cry.”
Plath’s frustration is not necessarily personal to Chalukya. It’s more about validation, he said. He believed he won the match with quality and correct technique, only to lose the match because of what he believed was an inconsistent call.
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Which brings us to Act Two.
The competition is not over yet. Tsarukyan has issued a challenge to Poullas, inviting his foe to the gym for a less-than-friendly boxing match. Now, on March 11, Prass is expected to travel to Rio de Janeiro to compete in a BJJ grappling match against Tsarukyan under the Hype FC banner. Porras said the contract is still being finalized, but the intent and goals are clear.
“He said I would never [fight him]. He never invited me. Where is my invitation? Let’s find an organization to cover it. Let’s make it make sense. I was 100 percent frustrated,” Plath said. “Of course he didn’t want to wrestle me anymore because he knew he was going to lose. He felt my pressure. The only reason he won was because of penalties. But guess what? I should go to Brazil and capture him now. Do you know why I do this? so that he agrees [wrestling] rematch. So what, does he want to strangle me? He wants to suppress me? Bravo, bro. You can suffocate me. You can hold me tight. I don’t care.
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“The only reason I’m doing this is to get back in this wrestling game.”
This strategy is essentially leverage. Poullas was willing to enter Tsarukyan’s preferred world – a world closer to MMA, like jiu-jitsu – to secure a rematch with Tsarukyan under wrestling rules. This is despite Chalukian beating out Lance Palmer in the RAF from January.
There’s an additional wrinkle: The 27-year-old wrestler claims that RAF won’t allow him to wrestle anyone else under its promotional banner until Chalukya rematches with Prath.
If accurate, this stipulation would make Plath the gatekeeper for Tsarukian’s return to the RAF pads — an unusual power dynamic for a feud that spawned from a crossover show.
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But Plath’s ideas were not small. Beyond the fight mat and professional promotions, he’s open to something bigger: a potential showdown within the UFC.
It’s ambitious, sure – especially given UFC CEO Dana White’s public resistance to novel crossovers modeled after impact boxing – but Plath sees room for business logic.
“We’re currently waiting for a call to see if that can be achieved,” Plath said. “For now, I know how Dana feels about Brother Paul [Jake Paul and Logan Paul] And how he didn’t want to achieve this in the UFC. But at the same time, I don’t think Dana wants to lose business to another organization. I think he is a businessman. So, I mean, I can only hope that this is something that he’s okay with, but if it’s something that he doesn’t want to be okay with, I totally understand. “
Ultimately, Plath still had a score to settle. If he gets his way and things come back to the wrestling ring, he feels like things should be settled the first time.