Georgio Poullas took to social media to send a message to his fans, RAF fans, and RAF 6 opponent Arman Tsarukyan after their chaotic post-match brawl.
Tsarukyan took a 5-3 victory over Poullas, but the real story came after the match when Tsarukyan shoved Poullas down and looked to throw strikes at him. The corners of both men and officials quickly intervened to separate the two.
Footage from the match appeared to show Poullas employing dirty tactics during the match, namely slaps, to the protest of Tsarukyan’s team.
In a statement from the back of an ambulance, Poullas credited his family for being on his side despite being outnumbered during the aftermath. He also felt like the true winner of the matchup, claiming to have scored the only true takedown.
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“Unfortunately, I was jumped,” Poullas said. “But as you guys saw, my 62-year-old dad and both of my brothers came to my rescue. That’s the way we were brought up — to fight for each other no matter what.
“To Arman, you’re a little b****. And by the way, if you guys watch the match, I’m the only one that got a takedown. He got pushed out and a couple of penalty points. I’m still the champ, baby.”
Tsarukyan has been in the spotlight of controversy several times over the past couple of years. He was suspended following an altercation with a fan at UFC 300, lost a UFC lightweight title shot after pulling out with injury one day before UFC 311, and earned plenty of criticism for getting physical with Dan Hooker during the UFC Qatar ceremonial weigh-ins.
Tsarukyan made his RAF debut at RAF 5 in January, defeating Lance Palmer. Poullas also made his RAF debut on that card, defeating Keelon Jimison.
Following the event, RAF executives Eric Bischoff and Chad Bronstein assured that RAF is a family-friendly product and said they would review protocols to ensure preventative measures for another situation like this.
As of press time, there is no update on the RAF status of Tsarukyan or Poullas.
