Ahead of UFC 331, viral streamer N3ON promised Arman Tsarukyan $250k if he walked out to his song “She Wanna Hang With an Indian” for his co-main event fight against Mauricio Ruffy. The Armenian kept his word, walking out to the track alongside the streamer in his corner. Still, Tsarukyan is yet to receive his promised bet amount.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, the 29-year-old said he asked N3ON for the bet, but after the streamer admitted he didn’t have the money to pay him, Tsarukyan chose not to press the issue. 

“Zero. I wanted to get $250K, but he doesn’t have the money, and I said, ‘Okay, no problem,” Tsarukyan said. “We are friends. It’s not all about money.” 

According to Celebrity Net Worth, N3ON has a net worth of $5 million, and it’s not hard to imagine that the lion’s share of that comes from his streaming career. So paying Tsarukyan $250k shouldn’t have been too hard for him. However, despite knowing the streamer has the money, the lightweight contender felt it would be unfair to ask him for it, given that the Indian-American streamer is only 21 years old. 

“I mean, he has money, but he is 21, and taking $250K from him is unfair,” Tsarukyan added further. “Khamzat, Coach, everybody, they trust me. Khamzat said, ‘If my brother decided to be there, me and Neon…’ For me, it doesn’t matter.”   

With that, Tsarukyan made clear he never took the bet too seriously to begin with. In fact, N3ON himself recently confirmed that ‘The Batman’ had agreed to walk out with him at UFC 331 for free. 

“Arman said he let you walk out with him for free. Is this true?” Neon said on social media. “Brother, stop. First off, yes. Second off, stop worrying about me. My brother got going on. Arman is my best friend, bro. That’s my guy. We’re like this.” 

Ultimately, being good friends with Tsarukyan spared the streamer from a substantial payout. But the 21-year-old isn’t the first streamer to have business dealings with Arman Tsarukyan.

Previously, ‘The Batman’ revealed he made over $50k for appearing on an Adin Ross stream, though it’s unclear whether he receives money for his appearances with N3ON as well.

However, there was a time the Armenian has found himself tied up in a conflicting betting situation. Once, Tsarukyan was on the verge of committing a serious UFC rule violation for allegedly wagering over a million dollars on a star underdog fighter.   

Arman Tsarukyan reported place $1 million on Justin Gaethje vs. Ilia Topuria 

Justin Gaethje entered as roughly a 6-to-1 underdog against Ilia Topuria at UFC White House. A $100 bet on the Arizona native would have paid out nearly $600, which is a substantial profit. Looking at those odds, Tsarukyan daringly wagered a million dollars on Gaethje during a stream with Adrien Broner and Deen The Great.

To show that he indeed placed the wager, Tsarukyan even showed his phone screen on stream. With Gaethje defeating Ilia Topuria via 4th-round corner stoppage, ‘The Batman’s payout topped over $5 million. However, according to a 2022 memo from Hunter Campbell, contracted UFC fighters are explicitly barred from betting on other bouts, and a violation could carry severe punishment, even criminal charges under some jurisdictions. 

For Tsarukyan, one of the top contenders in the lightweight division, getting punished over a bet would have been a foolish, self-inflicted setback. But Dana White later addressed the issue and clarified that it was actually one of Tsarukyan’s friends who placed the wager on Gaethje, not the fighter himself.

“No! From what I heard, Arman didn’t,” White clarified on Full Send Podcast. “It was one of his buddies that did that. One of his buddies bet a million dollars on Gaethje, right?” 

Despite Dana White revealing that a friend of Tsarukyan’s placed the bet at UFC White House, it still remains unclear who actually made the wager. Because of that, many speculated that the head honcho stepped in to shield Tsarukyan from potential punishment.

Still, his recent betting situation with N3ON wasn’t remotely close to him allegedly violating a strict UFC rule.