Ryan Garcia is pushing back hard against Arman Tsarukyan’s demand for $40,000, refusing to pay out on a disputed bet stemming from a Kick stream challenge in April.
Tsarukyan claims he wagered $40,000 that Garcia could not drop one of his teammates with a body shot and says the boxer did not honor the bet after failing to score the knockdown. Garcia, who did not drop the teammate during the challenge, insists he was manipulated and is standing firm.
“There’s no way I will ever pay him,” Garcia said, explaining his side of how the body-shot challenge was set up on stream. He added, “Nah, I feel like I got played, whatever. Anyways, I just want to fight you,” and later, “Let’s just fight, body shots.”
At one point Garcia appeared to walk toward paying, saying, “Alright, I’ll give you the 40,” before ultimately doubling down on his refusal. When the money was brought up again, he said, “It’s in my pocket,” followed by, “No, it’s not. But come through.”
Tsarukyan, described as one of the UFC’s top pound-for-pound fighters, has responded by offering $100,000 for Garcia to box him for eight rounds, or $1 million if Garcia can survive one round of MMA against him. Garcia, a boxing superstar, has instead continued to call for a body-shot battle, telling Tsarukyan, “Bro, I’m right here. You drop me. You’re a real fighter. Let’s go. You’re 200 pounds, I’m 160, you’ve got 40 pounds on me.”
