Arman Tsarukyan says if Dustin Poirier called him a “motherfucker,” his hand “would definitely have gone to the target”
“I need to respond, I need to say we come from different cultures and such things shouldn’t be said to us.”
It is good for Islam that he is not so… pic.twitter.com/KS8fKWq9ew
— Championship Round (@ChampRDS)
June 1, 2024
Certainly, Arman Tsarukyan is not as tolerant as Islam Makhachev.
Makhachev will defend his title against Dustin Poirier on Saturday in the main event of UFC 302 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. During their pre-fight confrontation, “The Diamond” called Makhachev a “motherfucker,” clearly angering the champion. The Dagestan native sternly asked Poirier to stop using the term but refrained from lashing out at the Louisiana native.
Tsarukyan recently spoke out about the incident, claiming he would have reacted differently than Makhachev. “Akhalkalaketz” suggested he, and most other Muslim fighters, would not have been able to escape the abusive language Poirier used against Makhachev by “The Diamond.” However, Tsarukyan praised Makhachev for keeping his cool and not putting the title fight at risk.
“I need to react and say that such things should not be said to us because we come from different cultures. It is good for Islam that he is not a very short-tempered person,” Tsarukyan told Ushatayka (translation: Championship Round) “If it had been me or anyone else, our hands would definitely have reached the target. Well, of course he made the right decision not to touch him because there is a very important match, and that is how it should be.”
After Tsarukyan defeated former champion Charles Oliveira by split decision in a title eliminator bout at UFC 300 last month, he was initially offered a title fight against Makhachev at UFC 302. However, the Armenian-Russian, who lost to Makhachev in his last-minute UFC debut, declined the rematch, citing the short notice.
