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Merab Dvalishvili points finger at Georgio Poullas over RAF06 melee with Arman Tsarukyan

Originally posted on HITC | By Jamie Theodosi | Last updated Mar 3, 2026 3:35 PM ET

Merab Dvalishvili has criticised Georgio Poullas for his approach during the RAF06 bout with Arman Tsarukyan.

On Saturday, Tsarukyan got back on the wrestling circuit in a bout against Georgio Poullas.

Tensions boiled over after the fight when ‘Ahalkalakets’ threw punches at Poullas, igniting a full-scale brawl between their teams.

While it was Tsarukyan who threw the first punch, Merab Dvalishvili suggested that it was Poullas’ aggressive behaviour that escalated things. In his eyes, Tsarukyan’s reaction was not surprising given how physical Poullas had been throughout the contest.

Merab Dvalishvili says Georgio Poullas was the cause of the brawl with Arman Tsarukyan

Dvalishvili was there to support his teammate Aljamain Sterling and also waiting for news about his own fight against Henry Cejudo.

So, when things kicked off, he had a clear view of what happened and gave his take while speaking with Ariel Helwani.

“I think Georgio started that, and he was doing too much,” ‘The Machine’ said on The Ariel Helwani Show.

“They did take a point from him and yeah, I’m not a wrestler and I think if they were going to fight, they should’ve fought during the wrestling match, not after.

“Yeah, Georgio was doing too much, for sure. He was fighting aggressive, and we all see now how he was pushing his face and stuff.”

After the match, Cejudo also criticised Poullas saying that in any other Freestyle Wrestling competition Poullas would have been disqualified.