Who could have thought one live stream could start somewhat of a purse bid for a fight? See, earlier this month, UFC’s No. 2 lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan was on a livestream tour when he appeared in a live stream with Ryan Garcia. During the stream, Tsarukyan challenged the Victorville native to drop one of his teammates with body shots, and if not, Garcia would pay $40K. 

Ryan Garcia failed to drop Tsarukyan’s teammate and handed piles of cash to the Armenian UFC star. However, Arman later revealed that Garcia’s team had asked for the money back to count it, and insisted Garcia told him he would personally send the money. Despite that, Arman claims he has not received the money. In response, Garcia issued a challenge to fight the UFC No.2 lightweight contender. 

“Arman and his team, we can just set up a squabble between whoever on your team,” Garcia wrote on X. “No body shot things, just a fight. Not for 40k, for however much. I’m not paying you s–t. Let’s just fight. If any of you can win, I’ll give you 100k.”

In a follow-up tweet, Garcia explained Tsarukyan scammed him, pointing out that there was no mention that his friend was a professional fighter. He called the situation deceptive and added that people could take sides if they wanted, but he wasn’t someone who could be played. Garcia then doubled down, proposing an eight-round boxing match.

“Ryan Garcia vs Arman,” Garcia wrote. “100k if he survives 8 rounds, we give him the money on stream. Time is ticking.”

Arman Tsarukyan has since proposed a different setting for their fight and has offered $1 million for the winner. 

“$100k for 8 rounds lol,” Arman wrote on X. “Survive 1 round of MMA sparring with me, and I’ll give you $1,000,000. @RyanGarcia.”

The matchup may never materialize, as the UFC could take issue with the financial arrangements involved. Moreover, Arman’s standing with the promotion isn’t exactly spotless, given his string of controversies outside the cage. In any case, Garcia has revealed whether he is willing to swap his boxing gloves for the mat.

Ryan Garcia doesn’t want an MMA fight with Arman Tsarukyan

Since Tsarukyan’s offer, Ryan Garcia has made it clear that fighting on the mat isn’t for him. 

“First of all, I don’t care about you mma nut smackers talking about real ‘fight’,” Garcia wrote on X. “There’s a reason mma fighters can’t box [because] it’s HARD to just use your hands. Grabbing [and] rolling on the floor for hours is something I’m not trying to learn, but go off.”

The Victorville native last appeared in the ring earlier this year, when he defeated Mario Barrios to become the WBC welterweight champion. He currently doesn’t have a confirmed next opponent, but he recently claimed that he would fight rival Conor Benn. 

In the meantime, Arman Tsarukyan has a fight of his own coming up at RAF 08 in Philadelphia. The 29-year-old will face MMA legend Urijah Faber on Saturday, but before the fight, he was booted from an American Airlines flight heading to the venue. 

Sadly, fans won’t get to see Ryan Garcia and Arman Tsarukyan fight in boxing or MMA. But had they fought, which discipline would you have preferred?