Georgio Poullas isn’t backing down from Arman Tsarukyan.
In February, Poullas, a social media influencer, faced off with Tsarukyan in the co-main event of RAF 6, where things quickly turned dark. The match between Poullas and Tsarukyan was littered with fouls and referee intervention, with Tsarukyan winning on points; however, the big story was that immediately after the final whistle, Tsarukyan attacked Poullas, leading to a massive brawl.
This hoopla surrounding their beef led RAF to book a rematch between the two, which takes place this Saturday in Tampa, FL, and if things go sideways again, this time, Poullas is prepared.
“The first match, he just cried like a little bitch,” Poullas told MMA Fighting on Friday. “He kept throwing his hands up. If you watch the match with me and Mugzy, I clubbed Mugzy the same, and Mugzy took it like the man because he is a man. I was very shocked to see a UFC fighter that’s supposed to be some badass cry to the ref so much. But I’ll tell you what, if he tries to hit me this time, I’ll be ready to look for it. So, it wouldn’t be smart for him.”
Tsarkuyan is one of the top lightweights in the world and expects to challenge for the UFC title sometime this year. Despite that, Poullas isn’t afraid to engage with the credentialed MMA star in whatever venue will have them. The two were briefly linked to a grappling bout earlier this month, and Poullas made at least some cursory efforts to court the UFC and Dana White. However, that seems unlikely to happen for Poullas, but if if possible to fight Tsarukyan in MMA, the social media star says he’s ready to do so.
“There hasn’t been any direct communication,” Poullas said when asked about speaking with Dana White. “There’s been going through some people to figure some things out, but I don’t think anything’s going to happen with that. But I think it would be great to find an organization to cover an MMA fight between me and him, whether it be a streaming company or whatever platform it is. So, yeah, I think that would be great. I’d love to do something like that.”
While the UFC has been content to allow Tsarkuyan his forays into other combat sports, it’s unlikely the promotion would allow one of its top contenders to do an MMA fight elsewhere, meaning fans of the beef will most likely have to content themselves settle things on the RAF mats on Saturday. And when that happens, Poullas anticipates a different outcome than their first affair.
“I think, I don’t know what the score is going to be, but I think I get my hand raised this time, for sure,” Poullas said. “I put in a lot of work. I feel a lot better than last match. My last match, I didn’t really have a proper training camp, and I did have one this time, so I feel great.”
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