Arman Tsarukyan offers Ryan Garcia $1M for MMA spar after bet dispute

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Arman Tsarukyan is looking to raise the stakes with ‘KingRy’.

While he waits for his next UFC bout, the lightweight has kept busy, taking on a range of side challenges outside of his main sport.

He’s also been getting more attention away from competition. One of his recent livestreams included a back-and-forth with Ryan Garcia, where Tsarukyan came out on top in their virtual exchange.

Arman Tsarukyan and Ryan Garcia exchange words over an unpaid bet

Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC

Tsarukyan recently made an appearance on one of Garcia’s Kick streams, following earlier visits to channels hosted by Adin Ross and Nina Drama that had already drawn some attention.

During the stream, Tsarukyan challenged Garcia to a bet, wagering $40,000 that the WBC welterweight champion couldn’t drop his teammate with a body shot. Despite winning the bet, Tsarukyan claimed he never saw the money.

After being called out over the unpaid wager, Garcia responded by offering Tsarukyan $100k if he could last eight rounds in the ring with him instead. The UFC fighter wasn’t interested in taking up that challenge. Instead, he raised the stakes with an offer of his own.

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

The Armenian lightweight has been enjoying a sudden rise to stardom through his activities away from the Octagon.

Tshis rise in social media activity came after being passed over for a title shot earlier this year when Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett were picked for the interim lightweight title fight instead of him.

As for Garcia, who is no stranger to headlines himself, he’s coming off a WBC welterweight title win against Mario Barrios back in February.