Arman Tsarukyan steps on Dillon Danis after 10-0 tech fall at RAF 14, says rivalry is not over

UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan defeated Dillon Danis by technical fall, 10-0, in the main event of Real American Freestyle (RAF) 14 on Friday, October 23, at Fontainebleau Las Vegas (early Saturday, October 24, Moscow time). MMA Fighting reported the result, and the match was billed by RAF as a middleweight crossover championship bout, the inaugural RAF title in that division according to MMA News. RAF celebrated on X with the posts "AND NEW" and "ARMAN GETS HIS BELT". The card streamed on Fox Nation.

Tsarukyan vs Danis

According to MMA Fighting's Damon Martin, Tsarukyan "barely broke a sweat". He appeared to slap Danis at the start of the match and scored a push-out point, drawing a quick warning from the referee. He then added a takedown for two more points, another step-out point to go up four, and a further takedown that started a quick run of scores. He reached 10-0 to end the match by technical superiority in the first period. RAF has not published an official match time. Several accounts on X put it at under a minute or under two minutes, but no major outlet has confirmed that.

Stepping on Danis, then a handshake

The ending nearly led to another brawl. MMA Fighting reported that as soon as the match was over, Tsarukyan stepped on Danis while he was getting back to his feet. After Thursday's press conference brawl, RAF had security ready, and staff flooded the mat to keep the two apart. MMA Fighting and MMA Junkie both shared video of the moment. Danis did not retaliate. Instead he stood up and shook Tsarukyan's hand.

Tsarukyan, however, does not see the rivalry as finished. "No it's over if we fight together," he said afterwards, according to MMA Fighting. "I'm wrestling back to back with high level [grapplers]. Come to support me in Abu Dhabi." MMA Fighting reported that Tsarukyan is set for another match in three weeks in Abu Dhabi. RAF has not announced an opponent. RAF has also made no statement about the post-match incident.

GlobalWrestOrder and wrestling writer Jimmy Pawelski reported that Tsarukyan improves to 8-1 in RAF, with Pawelski adding that six of those wins came by technical fall. Before the event, MMA Fighting noted that Tsarukyan was trying to bounce back from his first RAF loss, which came against Colby Covington in July. Danis entered the night 0-2 in RAF, with losses to Covington and Khamzat Chimaev, and now falls to 0-3.

Bad blood from fight week

The result capped a heated build-up. At the RAF 14 press conference on Thursday, Danis stood up to show a T-shirt reading "Khamzat is my b----", a shot at Tsarukyan's close friend and teammate Chimaev. ESPN reported that Tsarukyan, 30, got up and tried to strike Danis in the head before RAF security intervened, and MMA Junkie described a chaotic brawl on the stage as officials and security separated the two. The bad blood goes back to RAF 10 in June, when Chimaev pinned Danis in the opening minute and the match ended in a brawl between the two teams.

Co-main event and what is next

In the co-main event, former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev beat former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler by technical fall, 11-0 according to MMA Fighting's results, which we covered in a separate story. MMA Fighting reported that the match ended with 20 seconds left in the first period. Chimaev then turned to his next match, against Colby Covington for the RAF crossover title at RAF Abu Dhabi on November 14: "Happy to finally get his guy and break his neck." He also stood by his teammate in the Danis feud: "I'm ready for anything. If Arman wants to kill him, we kill him."

Tsarukyan (24-3 in MMA) is presumed to be next in line for a UFC lightweight title shot, according to ESPN, and he still hopes to face champion Justin Gaethje. He has said he expects that fight in early 2027. For now, he leaves Las Vegas with RAF gold, while Danis is still looking for his first RAF win.

Other RAF 14 results

• Khamzat Chimaev def. Robbie Lawler via tech fall, 11-0
• Lucia Yepez def. Sarah Hildebrandt, 8-7
• Sebastian Rivera def. Vito Arujau, 11-11 via criteria
• Michael Caliendo def. Jordan Burroughs, 7-5
• Ridge Lovett def. Jordan Oliver via tech fall, 13-2
• Yonger Bastida def. Zach Elam, 9-1
• Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov def. Mekhi Lewis, 5-4
• Bella Mir def. Hope Chase via tech fall, 10-0
• Pat Downey def. Magomed Magomedkerimov via pin (R2, 1:19)
• Brendan Allen def. Alexander Shlemenko via tech fall, 10-0
• Dylan Ragusin def. Juan Archuleta via tech fall, 10-0