In sports (especially combat sports), there are two tropes that fans never get tired of – the ‘underdog story’ and the ‘rags to riches’ story. Look at the biggest UFC stars to date: Conor McGregor went from living on welfare checks to the richest MMA star ever, Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team came from nothing in the mountains to conquer MMA. Fighters like Brandon Moreno and Charles Oliveira continue to inspire as the ultimate underdogs. But one man is singlehandedly defying the expectations of tough surroundings molding tough fighters – UFC 311’s Arman Tsarukyan.

Was Arman ͏Tsarukya͏n ‘Richie Rich’ before the UFC? This is a question you might ask yourself after you get to know how he shocked UFC head honcho Dana White. All of this happened after UFC 300 where he won against Charles Oliveira in a three-round thriller.  He won $158,000 for his win at Vegas — and had $31,600 (20%) held by the Nevada Commission until a full disciplinary hearing was held for his altercation with a fan in the crowd. So, you can imagine White’s surprise when he spotted his lightweight title challenger in a $500K worth car.

Home of Fight shared a snippet from Tsarukyan’s chat with Adam Zubarayev, where “Ahalkalakets” recalled an incident where he was sitting inside a Phantom when his car stood beside Dana White’s BMW in traffic. His driver who once drove the boss saw him and Hunter Campbell and waved at them. Dana White on the other hand was shocked to see Tsarukyan inside a Rolls Royce and wanted to know where he got the car from. The Armenian fighter said, “I said ‘What do you mean where? I got in a fight at UFC 300?'” Dana replied, “Yeah I know you got in a fight at UFC 300 but where  from?” And that was not even half of it.

During the chat, Tsarukyan laid out all the lavish splurges he and his team were enjoying. The Armenian star said they had a private jet, a helicopter, a cool hotel, villas, and anything you can imagine, plus the Phantom. This may have been new info for White, and some of you fans, too. But for Arman Tsarukyan, it’s normal life that he has been living since his teenage years.

Arman is the middle child in the family. His father, Nairi Tsarukyan, runs a business in the construction industry and relocated his family to Russia when Arman was just three. Young Tsarukyan was always leaning towards sports, taking up ice hockey, wrestling, pankration, etc. But at 17, he decided to dedicate himself to combat sports fully, starting with freestyle wrestling.

The Armenian star shattered the stereotype that becoming a fighter always has to have a tough narrative from childhood. He was living a luxurious life before he hit 20. But he used all the luxuries to his advantage and molded himself into the fighter he is today. Understandably, the fans were astonished by this revelation and commented their thoughts on the video.

Fans were bewildered at Arman Tsarukyan’s confession

Many fans did not know about his roots; this was reflected in the comments and they asked away their question, while other fans clarified his family background. They said things like, “Dad was a construction businessman, he also works for the business. Save you the trouble,” and “And ppl use being rich as an excuse for Conor being washed like Khabib said, he comes here for money, not legacy”

On the other hand, some even mocked how the boss might give Tsarukyan less prize money or no bonuses for his upcoming fight at UFC 311. He and Islam Makahchev will have a rematch in this second showdown and before that, Tsarukyan even showed off his Lamborghini.

One fan quipped, “Dana wasn’t shocked. He was confused because he paid his fighters a bottle of wine and a bag of peanuts to fight. He was curious more so l imagine.” Another follower said, “Dana cutting his next pay.”

One follower pointed out the pay gap that UFC is rumored to have with other promotions. We all know how Muhammad Mokaev had to exit the UFC but went on to earn more at Brave CF rather than when he was with Dana White and Co. On the same note, a fan said, “Dana “we don’t pay contracts that can pay for a phantom” while another said, “No bonuses.”

A victory Tsarukyan would heavily change the dominant narrative out there – fighters don’t succeed because of difficulty, they do it despite the hardships. So if you have no hardships and use that to your advantage, what do we get? Maybe a new UFC lightweight champion. We’ll find out next weekend.