Arman Tsarukyan vs Georgio Poullas Ends in Brawl at RAF 6 | Full Breakdown

UFC’s No. 2 ranked lightweight Arman Tsarukyan made headlines this weekend — not for an octagon finish, but for a full-blown brawl on the wrestling mats at Real American Freestyle 6 (RAF 6) in Tempe, Arizona. His freestyle wrestling match against Georgio Poullas ended in chaos, with punches flying, teams storming the mat, and even fights breaking out in the crowd.

Here’s everything that went down — and why Tsarukyan says it was completely justified.

The Match: Dirty Tactics From the Start

Tsarukyan was making his second RAF appearance after debuting with a shutout win over Lance Palmer at RAF 5 in January. This time, his opponent Georgio Poullas — a Canfield, Ohio native and accomplished freestyle wrestler — came out with a game plan that had little to do with pure wrestling.

From the opening exchange, Poullas was clubbing Tsarukyan’s head repeatedly — not head snaps or standard hand-fighting, but open-handed slaps and strikes to the face and eyes. According to Tsarukyan, Poullas also attempted to poke his eyes and twist his fingers throughout the match.

“Maybe 20 times, he’s trying to poke eyes, break my fingers,” Tsarukyan told The Ariel Helwani Show. “I always show to the referee and the referee shouldn’t do that.”

The referee warned Poullas and deducted points, but never pulled the plug on the match — even after Poullas landed what Tsarukyan described as actual punches during a wrestling bout.

Tsarukyan Wins 5-3 — Then All Hell Breaks Loose

Despite the dirty tactics, Tsarukyan kept his composure long enough to secure a 5-3 victory. He scored with takedowns and push-outs while Poullas managed one scoring sequence with back control. But the moment the final whistle blew, Tsarukyan was done waiting.

He immediately shoved Poullas to the ground and started throwing punches. Within seconds, both corners rushed the mat and a full team-on-team brawl erupted. Security and RAF officials scrambled to contain the situation as fights even spilled into the crowd.

“I was waiting for wrestling to be done, and that moment I wanted to punch him right away,” Tsarukyan explained. “I won the wrestling and I heard the whistle, and I said, ‘OK, now it’s time.’ Because I got the victory. But if I did it before, I couldn’t win.”

The Aftermath: “F*** Around and Find Out”

Fellow UFC fighter Colby Covington was seen escorting Poullas off the mat as the crowd erupted into “U-S-A!” chants. Poullas was later seen with a bloody lip.

Tsarukyan’s post-match message on X was blunt: “F*** around and find out.”

Poullas fired back, calling Tsarukyan “a little b*tch” and claiming he was the only one who scored an actual takedown. Meanwhile, former UFC champion Henry Cejudo — who also competed at RAF 6, blanking Urijah Faber — weighed in during the broadcast, suggesting both fighters were getting away with things that wouldn’t fly in standard freestyle competition.

Ex-UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad backed Tsarukyan on X, writing: “Nah it was deserved, the other guy was dirty.”

Tsarukyan Breaks Silence: “This Is Not My Fault”

Speaking to MMA Fighting, Tsarukyan was unapologetic. He revealed that Poullas had tried to negotiate a lopsided side bet before the match — $50,000 if Poullas won, but only $25,000 if Tsarukyan won. Tsarukyan rejected the terms and they agreed on a smaller amount, though he says he still hasn’t been paid.

“This is not my fault,” Tsarukyan said. “Everybody is on my side now. I was waiting like six minutes. He was punching me for six minutes. What do you want me to wait for? If someone punches you 20 times, you’re not going to let him do that.”

As for a rematch? Tsarukyan isn’t interested in doing it on the mats.

“If they want to do a rematch, we’ve just got to fight on the street,” he said. “He can come to Newport Beach, we can fight in the sand on the beach.”

Watch the Full Breakdown

Check out Mighty’s full video breakdown of the match and brawl, with exclusive footage showing exactly where the dirty tactics started and why Tsarukyan finally snapped:

Watch the Full Match

Here’s the complete unedited match from RAF’s official YouTube channel. The action really heats up around the 12:58 mark — watch Poullas escalate the dirty tactics and see exactly why Tsarukyan was ready to explode the moment that final whistle blew:

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Sources: Yahoo Sports | MMA Fighting | Fox News | Economic Times