Media Arman Tsarukyan casually rocking a $120,000 Audemars Piguet watch

[Ironheart]

Meh. His family is rich. Good for him, but I struggle to care. As far as I'm concerned now, he's a privileged pullout merchant.

 

[humdizzle]

he probably wanted to get out of his father's shadow and be his own man. good for him.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

my

Don't think anyone ever claimed it was necessity.

Several examples of those who come from middle class or affluent backgrounds.

But yeah, most rich parents are probably not gonna encourage their children to get into the filthy business of prize fighting.

There's just a been a narrative constantly pushed by the UFC/Dana that if fighters aren't almost broke and hungry they don't work that hard and can't reach their potential. Almost as if there is a legit justification to underpay them, as if they were properly compensated they wouldn't train or fight as hard because they'd have the comfort of knowing they were well-off to fall back on when the going gets tough.

And while I do think there is some truth to that (insert famous quote from Hagler about "tough to wake-up and run at 5am when you are sleeping in silk pajamas" or whatever), when guys like Arman come along it really shows that the main factors are more about infrastructure/cultural mentality than about being poor/hungry/desperate.

Those other variables can contribute to motivating people to work hard, but if they already have infrastructure/support to give them that drive now they have the advantages of nutrition/training/not having to work/etc. and would seem to have a huge leg up on the poor/hungry/desperate working regular jobs and eating shit food and fighting out of huge teams/small camps that are always worried about going broke.

Islam, Usman, and Umar also come from a "rich" team that has strong cultural fighting traditions and mindsets and are also super-elite, without ever having to be poor/hungry/desperate. They've never had to work regular jobs or worry about going broke/feeding their families by winning or losing a fight, and yet they are some of the best fighters in the world.

Agreed that most rich parents don't want to see their kids risk their lives/brains for little money and fake glory. But for the ones that are willing their kids have a huge leg-up on the competition in my opinion.

 

[LEWIS540]

my


There's just a been a narrative constantly pushed by the UFC/Dana that if fighters aren't almost broke and hungry they don't work that hard and can't reach their potential. Almost as if there is a legit justification to underpay them, as if they were properly compensated they wouldn't train or fight as hard because they'd have the comfort of knowing they were well-off to fall back on when the going gets tough.

And while I do think there is some truth to that (insert famous quote from Hagler about "tough to wake-up and run at 5am when you are sleeping in silk pajamas" or whatever), when guys like Arman come along it really shows that the main factors are more about infrastructure/cultural mentality than about being poor/hungry/desperate.

Those other variables can contribute to motivating people to work hard, but if they already have infrastructure/support to give them that drive now they have the advantages of nutrition/training/not having to work/etc. and would seem to have a huge leg up on the poor/hungry/desperate working regular jobs and eating shit food and fighting out of huge teams/small camps that are always worried about going broke.

Islam, Usman, and Umar also come from a "rich" team that has strong cultural fighting traditions and mindsets and are also super-elite, without ever having to be poor/hungry/desperate. They've never had to work regular jobs or worry about going broke/feeding their families by winning or losing a fight, and yet they are some of the best fighters in the world.

Agreed that most rich parents don't want to see their kids risk their lives/brains for little money and fake glory. But for the ones that are willing their kids have a huge leg-up on the competition in my opinion.

Sure.

Think likes of BJ Penn and Marco Antonio Barrera came from money, too.

Interestingly one of them was always accused of not getting the most out of his talent….“motivated BJ”, whilst Barrera was the opposite.

Judging by this thread, maybe Arman’s family is a different level of rich.

 

[McSpikes]

Rich enough to pull out of title fights with little aches and pains. Hopefully he stays far away from the belt

 

[Hdfi]

Isn't Arman literally proof that you don't need to be poor/struggle through hardship to be an elite fighter?

I mean he just fumbled the bag and lost his title shot....

 

[Flower2dPeople]

yeah

I bet his dad and Dana have the same snow delivery guy.

 

[ElLunico]

It's so wild to me to be that rich and do MMA and be doing it at the highest level. That's some serious discipline to be able to train and be really good while having money to do whatever the fuck you want to do.

 

[Afrikan]

.....yeah, a couple of outliers certainly puts the myth to bed.

BJ Penn as well right? Not Arman level rich, but I believe he/fam were well off before fighting.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

Less showing off your family wealth and more taking care of you body -

Arman, "I broke my back, my back is broken, spinal . . . "

 

[lsa]

I just said it wasn’t a necessity.

They always make it seem like if you aren’t poor and from a bad part of town you can’t have success at the elite level.

I mean look at Brock, he was both rich and famous when he entered the UFC.
Some fighters seem to lose it when they make the money for sure.
Win the belt and then.... sits out.

Who was it that said something about its hard to get out of bed if you wear a silk pj.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Must be nice!

 

[Doctor Grudge]

But, but, fighter pay is too low for him to afford that...

You're right, he wouldn't have any of those things if he was just a fighter.

Arman is part of a rich family, so there goes your quip.

 

[Doctor Grudge]

It's so wild to me to be that rich and do MMA and be doing it at the highest level. That's some serious discipline to be able to train and be really good while having money to do whatever the fuck you want to do.

Being rich is what helps him succeed. He can afford to get good training without worrying about whether his lights are gonna turn on when he gets home.

MMA and professional athletics favor the rich.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

I mean he just fumbled the bag and lost his title shot....

So that means he is no longer an elite fighter?

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

I mean look at Brock, he was both rich and famous when he entered the UFC.
Some fighters seem to lose it when they make the money for sure.
Win the belt and then.... sits out.

Who was it that said something about its hard to get out of bed if you wear a silk pj.

"It's hard to wake up and do road work at 5:00 am if you're sleeping in silk pajamas." Marvin Hagler​

 

[fedorthegoat777]

Lol what the fuck is this guy doing getting punched in the face for a living.

How you gonna enjoy all that money if you're a vegetable

Probably bored and looking for an adrenaline kick.

oh boy, I got a new car. Oh boy, a watch today. He needs something.

 

[evergreenrider]

Is he the washing machine for his families dirty funds?

 

[Luthien]

All that money and he couldn't buy a working back

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

Judging by this thread, maybe Arman’s family is a different level of rich.

Oligarch family in Armenia. Thankfully Arman took the smarter route of "rich kids wants people to think he is tough" by prizefighting instead of becoming a petty criminal.

Is he the washing machine for his families dirty funds?

You don't need one if you own half the country. Arman's uncle has been one of if not the richest guy in the country for decades.