Arman Tsarukyan didn’t bother waiting until he got into the octagon before throwing his fists at UFC 300.
The bristly Armenian lightweight was barely twenty steps into his walkout when he bee-lined towards a fan in the stands and started throwing punches. He even went back for a second go after security dragged him away. It’s not something you see every day … but it will be if these fans keep disrespecting Arman.
“He showed me ‘F— you,’ and he wanted to punch me, and I wanted to punch him back,” Tsarukyan declared at the UFC 300 post-fight press conference. “That’s it. So guys, no one show me ‘F— you.’ It doesn’t matter who you are, I’m going to punch you in the face.”
“You can show me ‘F—’ from like 200 meters, I’m not going to punch you. But when you’re close to me, it’s, like automatically. I’m from Russia. Don’t do that please, or I’m going to go to prison in U.S.”
Tsarukyan would go on to beat Charles Oliveira via split-decision, putting him within striking distance of a lightweight title shot … if his little pre-fight punch-up didn’t put him in bad standing with the UFC. This isn’t even the first time Tsarukyan has brawled outside the cage.
Dana White sounded a bit exasperated with the situation but surprisingly chill when asked about the incident.
“You might not want to hang over the things and grab people when they’re walking out,” White said, referencing another fan who grabbed Charles Oliveira’s hand as “Do Bronx” walked out. “These guys are all f—ing hyped up and whatever. I’m sure we’re probably going to get sued. Uh, we’ll deal with that on Monday too.”
White’s commitment to letting chaos reign amongst his roster is impressive to witness. Fighters these days brawl at the hotel, brawl in the crowd, and brawl with the fans. None of it generates any pushback from the UFC any more, although it’s possible the Nevada State Athletic Commission might have something to say about this particular incident.