Khamzat Chimaev Fires Back at Dillon Danis After Press Conference Brawl With Arman Tsarukyan

After losing the middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 328, Khamzat Chimaev has yet to get a booking on the upcoming UFC schedule. To maintain his shape, the former champion is set to wrestle in the RAF 14 co-main event this Friday, which is headlined by the inaugural RAF Middleweight Crossover Championship match between Dillon Danis and Arman Tsarukyan.

However, the animosity surrounding the headliner reached a boiling point during Wednesday's pre-fight press conference when a heated moment ignited into a chaotic stage brawl right in front of packed reporters.

The melee prompted a furious reaction on social media from Chimaev, Tsarukyan’s close teammate, who fired back at Danis online after nearly getting involved in the scuffle himself.

Khamzat Chimaev Replies to Dillon Danis After RAF 14 Press Conference Brawl

The shocking brawl broke out in Las Vegas after Danis revealed a shirt mocking the former UFC middleweight champion. Danis stood up and displayed a custom shirt showing a beardless image of Chimaev with the insult "Khamzat is my b—" printed beside it.

Tsarukyan wasted no time crossing the stage to throw a punch. Both camps, security, and staff quickly rushed in to break them apart. The fight left a security guard bloodied and nearly broke the stage. Security held Chimaev back until everyone finally calmed down.

Chimaev took to X with a short post: "Who is your daddy?" Danis quickly replied: "I'm your daddy b—-." Media videos also captured Chimaev yelling threats during the melee, including "I'll f— you up."

He then told MMAJunkie, "He talks so much sh*t, bro, and never does anything. I've never seen him win any match. I don't know why they bring this idiot here. A lot of security is around me and that's why he's talking. When he's alone, he never talks."

This chaos adds to the bad blood that started at RAF 10 in June, when Chimaev pinned Danis in just 44 seconds. A brawl followed that pinfall too, with both teams storming the stage. Afterward, Chimaev told Danis online to settle it away from the venue, posting: "Just send me location."

However, this is not the first time the Armenian has started a brawl. He has a history of choosing violence before and after his fights in both the UFC and RAF. He previously punched Georgio Poullas right after their match at RAF 06 in February. In the UFC, he head-butted Dan Hooker before their UFC Qatar main event. He even punched a fan who flipped him off during his walkout at UFC 300.

After RAF 10, executives like Chief Media Officer Eric Bischoff promised to tighten security. Yet, another massive brawl just cleared the stage at their next big press conference. While the promotion’s "controversy creates cash" style builds huge fan interest, it leaves RAF with zero room for error when the real fighting starts early.

The stakes are entirely different for both men. Tsarukyan holds a 7-1 RAF record after Colby Covington handed him his first loss at RAF 11 in July. Meanwhile, Danis (0-2) is still searching for his first win in the promotion.