Brawl Erupts After Tsarukyan-Poullas Match at RAF 06

Chaos ensued after the co-main event fight, leading to a melee on the mat and backstage.

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

A brawl broke out at the RAF 06 event after the Arman Tsarukyan-Georgio Poullas match in the co-main event. The action continued after Tsarukyan's 5-3 victory, with Tsarukyan shoving Poullas and throwing a punch while Poullas was on the ground. This sparked a larger melee, with both fighters' corners jumping into the fray and the brawl spilling backstage.

Why it matters

The incident has raised concerns about the need for better security and crowd control measures at these high-profile combat sports events, where emotions can run high. It also highlights the challenges of maintaining a "family-friendly" atmosphere when tensions boil over between athletes.

The details

After Tsarukyan defended Poullas' final takedown attempt, he shoved Poullas and threw a punch while Poullas was on the ground. This ignited a larger brawl, with both fighters' corners rushing the stage and the melee continuing all over the mat before nearly making its way backstage.

  • The incident occurred immediately after the Tsarukyan-Poullas co-main event match at RAF 06 on March 1, 2026.

The players

Arman Tsarukyan

A UFC standout who won the co-main event match against Georgio Poullas at RAF 06.

Georgio Poullas

A former college wrestler and popular social media personality who competed against Tsarukyan in the co-main event at RAF 06.

Chad Bronstein

The CEO of Real American Freestyle (RAF), the organization that hosted the RAF 06 event.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“Today was an incredible event. You know, it was electric. We had some of the best athletes around. And, you know, there was an unfortunate event. We're not going to really comment on that. We still have to review the tape and make an assessment on exactly what happened. So I'm not going to really go into that. I want to focus on the matches and some of the, you know, the great outcomes. So I'll leave it at that ...”

— Chad Bronstein, CEO, Real American Freestyle (on3.com)

“I think it's important on that point is that we're a family. We pride ourselves in being a family friendly combat sport, right? We don't go out and try to have these kind of situations happen. We're on six events, not even a blip. So it's gonna happen unfortunately ... We gotta figure out and make sure it doesn't.”

— Chad Bronstein, CEO, Real American Freestyle (on3.com)

What’s next

The RAF organization has stated they will review the incident footage and make an assessment on what happened before determining any potential disciplinary actions.

The takeaway

This brawl at the RAF 06 event highlights the need for combat sports promotions to have robust security and crowd control measures in place to prevent such incidents from escalating and disrupting the overall event experience, especially as they aim to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere.