Whatever occurs this time, Georgio Poullas gained’t be surprised. It doesn’t matter if Arman Tsarukyan takes another swing at him on the wrestling mats. It doesn’t matter if their return match at RAF 7 this Saturday turns right into a full-scale fistfight proper off the bat.
After his last experience on the mat with the UFC light-weight contender, Poullas insists he’s past any capability for astonishment in the case of the habits of Tsarukyan — throughout or after the precise competitors.
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“I can tell you, I’ll be ready for it this time, whatever happens,” Poullas informed Uncrowned. “It was a coward move, what [Tsarukyan] did. He waited until I wasn’t looking. I mean, if you’re going to hit me, hit me when I’m looking at you. Don’t be a coward about it.”
In case you’re among the many small section of the inhabitants who someway missed the viral video second from their first encounter at RAF 6, right here’s a fast abstract of how issues went down:
• Tsarukyan took exception to Poullas’ use of clubbing fingers to the top early on of their wrestling match and responded with a blatant open-hand slap that price him some extent.
• Poullas saved at it, and was ultimately penalized some extent himself.
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• Order threatened to dissolve fully. Tsarukyan took a swipe at Poullas between rounds. RAF officers needed to stroll on the mats and attempt to cool everybody down.
• Tsarukyan gained a slim victory on factors (5-3). Then the true enjoyable began.
The a part of the video that unfold far and extensive on the web was Tsarukyan shoving Poullas onto his again after the match had clearly ended, then getting on prime of Poullas and punching him in the head before outside forces could intervene. Tsarukyan additionally tried a knee strike on Poullas as our bodies got here tumbling onto the mat, however by then the chaos of the second had gotten in the best way of any efficient, focused violence.
If you return and watch the RAF broadcast on FOX Nation, you’ll hear commentators expressing remorse and disapproval at this show. Won’t somebody consider the youngsters watching and the instance we’re setting? That type of factor. But actually? The second was good for the viral video age. It takes rather a lot for a clip from some freestyle wrestling occasion to interrupt containment and discover its approach into the open waters of social media. A post-match brawl will do it, although. And when it features a notoriously hot-headed UFC title contender, even higher.
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Many of the preliminary reactions centered on that half, on Tsarukyan himself, and on the query of what precisely his downside may be. This is identical man who, whereas making his stroll to the cage at UFC 300, paused to assault a fan who directed an unkind hand gesture his approach. More lately he head-butted an opponent — and seemingly injured him — throughout the ceremonial weigh-ins the day earlier than their combat. Now it appears he can’t even get by way of a wrestling match with out misbehaving in some memorable trend.
Poullas, after all, has his personal theories about what set Tsarukyan off of their match.
“I think when he gets a tough opponent who frustrates him, he acts out,” Poullas mentioned. “He obviously doesn’t have respect for his opponents. I think when he’s challenged or frustrated, he doesn’t know how to handle it.”
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But particularly for somebody like Poullas, this was not all dangerous information. He’s a man who is aware of just a little one thing about self-promotion through viral video. If you’d heard of him earlier than this, it in all probability wasn’t as a mid-level faculty wrestler at Cleveland State or Rider University. More possible it was because the man from social media promising $1,000 to anybody on the road who may take him down.
“Take me down, get $1,000” is precisely the sort of gimmick that Instagram and TikTok are made for, so this labored properly as an attention-getting routine. (Poullas claims he was by no means taken down in these impromptu problem matches, although there are dissenting opinions on that.) Even now, if you kind his title into Google, you’re much less more likely to see Poullas recognized as a standout wrestler than as a “social media influencer.”
It’s a job title Poullas doesn’t draw back from, partially as a result of it arose out of necessity.
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“It doesn’t bother me. I mean, I am an influencer and I am a wrestler, but why do people know me? Because of social media, because I post my wrestling clips out there,” Poullas mentioned. “The reason why I did what I did was because there weren’t many social media wrestlers. There was no one doing what I’m doing. There wasn’t money to be made in the sport. I enjoyed wrestling. I wanted to grow the sport. So it was a win-win for me. Make some money and promote the sport of wrestling and have fun with what I’m doing. Ultimately it all worked out for me.”
You can see how a man with that strategy wouldn’t thoughts a viral second on the wrestling mats reverse a prime UFC contender. In the eye financial system of the web, getting right into a brawl with Tsarukyan was arguably even higher than beating him would have been. Poullas’ solely remorse is that Tsarukyan received his photographs in after which disappeared within the throng of our bodies on the mat earlier than Poullas had an opportunity at payback.
Georgio Poullas’ rematch with Arman Tsarukyan headlines RAF 7 on Saturday. (Photo through Real American Freestyle)
“Anything that happens like that, a brawl with two high-level guys, it’s bound to be viral,” Poullas mentioned. “I’m not upset at the fact that it happened. It brought a lot of attention to this sport and I think it did great things for the sport. In the heat of the moment, yeah, I wanted to fight the guy. I was looking for him, but there were just so many people out there so quick that I didn’t get a chance to throw a punch back. But I think for the sport and just the virality of it, I think it was a good thing.”
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It did earn Poullas the rematch on Saturday, only one month after that first assembly. And it has efficiently saved his title in headlines. It may need even helped him open the door to some alternatives in MMA — Poullas informed Uncrowned he has agreed to a contract for an MMA combat, however mentioned he was unable to debate specifics but — now that much more followers from all corners of the combat sports activities world know his title.
(*7*)
But now comes the half the place he has to cope with an indignant professional fighter who has a repute for lashing out violently even when it prices him. You simply by no means know what you’re going to get with Tsarukyan, or when you’re going to get it. He’s confirmed that he doesn’t thoughts straying outdoors the principles or properly past the bounds of competitors. And now he has much more motivation to take action.
“I won’t be surprised if there’s another brawl,” Poullas mentioned. “I’ll be ready.”
And if it does come to that, Poullas added: “I’d love a chance to punch that guy in the face.”
