Brawl involving Tsarukyan, Danis and Chimaev at RAF 14 press conference leaves security guard bleeding

A brawl broke out between Arman Tsarukyan and Dillon Danis at the Real American Freestyle (RAF) 14 press conference in Las Vegas on Thursday, October 22, one day before the two meet in the main event of RAF 14. Ariel Helwani, who was following the press conference, posted at 22:04 UTC (01:04 MSK): "A full on brawl has just broken out between Arman and Dillon." The press conference was streamed live on Fox Nation, and RAF's own footage of the incident quickly spread on social media.

What happened

According to Helwani, the trigger was Danis' clothing. "Dillon was wearing a disparaging shirt about Khamzat. Someone asked about it. Arman got up and swung - not sure if he hit him - and then chaos," Helwani wrote three minutes later.

The shirt was aimed at Khamzat Chimaev, who beat Danis in an RAF match in June that also ended in an on-stage brawl security had to break up. In a clip of the RAF video shared by Combat Sports Today, Danis is quoted as saying: "Khamzat's my b*tch, here's a picture of him without a beard."

It is not clear whether Tsarukyan's punch landed. Helwani described what followed as "chaos", and some viewers on social media said the two were separated almost instantly, with much of the scuffle involving security staff rather than the fighters themselves.

Chimaev drawn in, security guard bleeding

The incident did not stay between the two main event opponents. About 15 minutes after the first reports, at 22:20 UTC (01:20 MSK), Helwani posted video of the melee and wrote: "Arman Tsarukyan x Dillon Danis brawl feat. Khamzat Chimaev. One security guard was bleeding. Total chaos. Ugly scene." Helwani did not say how Chimaev became involved or how the guard was hurt, and there is no word yet on the guard's condition. Six minutes later he followed up with a clip under the caption "What started it:", showing the moment that set off the scuffle.

MMA Fighting's Damon Martin also reported from the event that Danis said his shirt read "Khamzat is my b*tch" and that Tsarukyan "charged him and nearly set off a riot".

Is the match still on?

As of 01:30 MSK, RAF, Tsarukyan, Danis and Chimaev had not commented on the brawl, and there was no announcement of any penalty or change to the card. Fox Nation, which streams the event, kept promoting the main event after the incident, posting the brawl footage with the message "Watch RAF14 tomorrow, LIVE at 9p ET only on Fox Nation." POP MMA will update this story if RAF announces any action.

RAF 14: what is at stake

Tsarukyan and Danis wrestle for the inaugural RAF middleweight crossover championship on Friday, October 23, at Fontainebleau Las Vegas (early Saturday morning Moscow time), with the card streaming on Fox Nation. Chimaev himself is on the same card, facing former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in the catchweight crossover co-main event.

Tsarukyan, the UFC lightweight contender, comes in five weeks after knocking out Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331. His only RAF loss came against Colby Covington in a close match for the inaugural crossover title in July, and he is No. 3 in RAF's first crossover pound-for-pound rankings. Danis is still looking for his first RAF win after losses to Covington and Chimaev.

The incident ties together the top two matches of the card: Danis' shirt targeted Chimaev, the man who beat him in June, and it was Tsarukyan, his opponent on Friday, who went after him.

For the full RAF 14 card and background on both matches, see our fight week preview.