Arman Tsarukyan and Ryan Garcia Clash Over Unpaid Bet

Ryan Garcia has admitted to refusing to pay a lost bet to Arman Tsarukyan, instead offering him a fight. Earlier this month, Tsarukyan and Garcia were bantering during a Garcia Kick stream when Tsarukyan wagered $40,000 that the boxing star couldn't drop a member of Tsarukyan's team with a body shot. After reluctantly agreeing, Garcia failed to knock down Tsarukyan's teammate, giving up after only a few attempts.

However, Tsarukyan now claims that Garcia hasn't honored the bet. On Thursday, on Adam Zubayraev's YouTube channel, Tsarukyan stated that while Garcia acted as if he would pay the wager, he still hasn't done so.

"He hasn't paid," Tsarukyan said. "Now, Khamzat and I will go talk to Ryan Garcia – $40,000... No, he didn't pay. There was a lot of talk. 'We'll count it now and bring it over.' They counted it and never brought it. 'We'll send it to your account.' ..." "He said, 'I give you my word as a man, I'll send it to you.' Five days passed, and he hasn't even messaged to ask for a card number."

Never one to stay silent, Garcia responded on social media through a series of subsequently deleted posts, first refusing to pay Tsarukyan, then offering to box instead.

"Arman and his team, we can just set up a fight with anyone from your team, no body shots, just a fight. Not for $40,000, but for whatever. I won't pay you anything, just fight. If any of you win, I'll give you $100,000."

"Ryan Garcia vs. Arman. $100,000 if he survives 8 rounds. We'll give him the money live on stream. The clock is ticking."

As a result of his admission to not honoring the bet, Garcia faced criticism from several people on social media. The Californian also posted responses to these claims, citing his reason for backing out of the wager: he felt he was cheated by Tsarukyan.

"First, I don't care what MMA fans say about a 'real fight.' There's a reason MMA fighters can't box, because it's HARD to only use your hands. I'm not trying to learn grappling and rolling on the floor for hours, but you know. I was actually cheated. No one mentioned his friend was a professional fighter. That in itself is misleading. So, again, you can take sides, but I'm not someone who can be played."

It seems Tsarukyan will most likely be out $40,000, but he has proposed a new wager between the two combat stars.