Tsarukyan Attacks Danis in Wild RAF 14 Presser Brawl
Arman Tsarukyan charged Dillon Danis and threw a punch after Danis mocked Khamzat Chimaev at the RAF 14 press conference.
The RAF 14 press conference on Thursday went sideways in a hurry when Arman Tsarukyan charged across the stage and threw a right hand at Dillon Danis inside the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
The presser had been spirited but largely under control until Danis was asked about his custom t-shirt. Danis stood up, showed the crowd a doctored photo of Khamzat Chimaev, and announced, "It says, 'Khamzat is my b****,'" adding that the image showed Chimaev "without a beard." Chimaev is Tsarukyan's close friend and training partner.
Tsarukyan did not wait for a follow-up question. He launched out of his chair and threw a right hand at Danis. Security swarmed the stage, and the scene lasted nearly two minutes before both men were finally separated. At least one member of the event's security team was visibly bloodied in the chaos, per MMA Mania.
The two are still scheduled to fight Friday night for the vacant RAF Middleweight Crossover Championship. Tsarukyan enters at 8-1 in RAF competition, with his only loss coming to Colby Covington at RAF 11 in July. Danis is 0-2 in RAF, having lost to Covington in March and to Chimaev himself in June.
In a separate moment at media day, Danis accidentally let slip that he had been offered a fight against Nick Diaz. "Nick Diaz was supposed to fight, I'm not even supposed to talk about this," Danis told reporters, adding that Diaz had agreed but was dealing with personal issues. The reveal came after Danis pulled out of his August MMA bout with Mike Perry at Duel Arena 1, citing a severe arm laceration. That withdrawal pushed the RAF 14 matchup from its original October 3 date to Friday.
Tsarukyan has a history of pre-fight flashpoints. He headbutted Dan Hooker before UFC Qatar in late 2025 and brawled with Georgio Poullas after their RAF 6 match in February. The UFC lightweight contender is still expected to receive a title shot later this year.
I'm sitting a few miles from the Fontainebleau right now, and I guarantee you every sportsbook lobby in this city was showing that clip within an hour. This is what Danis does. He pokes until somebody snaps, and Tsarukyan has the shortest fuse in combat sports.
What bothers me is that Tsarukyan keeps giving the UFC reasons to skip him for the title shot. The guy is an absolute problem on the mats and in the cage, but he cannot stop himself from throwing hands at press conferences. At some point Dana White runs out of patience, and Arman's next highlight reel moment happens in a courtroom instead of the Octagon.
As for the Nick Diaz reveal, that's a fight nobody should be making right now. I grew up in the 209 watching Nick and Nate scrap. Nick Diaz at 43, dealing with whatever he's dealing with, does not need Dillon Danis as his comeback opponent. Leave the man alone.
