Arman Tsarukyan says if Dustin Poirier
called him a motherf***er, his hand “definitely would’ve reached
the target” đł“I need to react. To say that we are from a different culture and
such things should not be told to us.Advertisement
It’s good for Islam that he is not a very⌠pic.twitter.com/KS8fKWq9ew
â Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS)
June 1, 2024
Arman
Tsarukyan is admittedly not as tolerant as Islam
Makhachev.
Makhachev defends his strap against Dustin
Poirier in the main event at UFC 302
on Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. During
their pre-fight face off, âThe Diamondâ called Makhachev a
âmotherfâ-r,â evidently irking the champion. The Dagestani sternly
asked Poirier to avoid using that term but refrained from getting
physical with the Louisiana native.
Tsarukyan recently weighed in on the incident, claiming he would
have reacted differently than Makhachev. âAhalkalaketsâ indicated
that most other Muslim fighters â himself included â wouldnât have
been able to keep their hands off Poirier for using the profanity
that âThe Diamondâ did against Makhachev. However, Tsarukyan
commended Makhachev for keeping his calm instead of jeopardizing
the title fight.
âI need to react. To say that we are from a different culture and
such things should not be told to us. It is good for Islam that he
is not a very quick-tempered person,â Tsarukyan told Ushatayka
(translation via Championship Rounds) âIf it was me or someone else,
our hand would definitely have reached the target. Well, he of
course he made the right decision that he didnât touch him since he
has a very important fight and thatâs the way it should be.â
Tsarukyan was originally offered the UFC 302 title shot against
Makhachev after beating former champ Charles
Oliveira via split decision in a title eliminator at UFC 300
last month. However, the Armenian-Russian, who lost to Makhachev on
his short notice UFC debut, turned down the rematch due to the
quick turnaround.