Arman Tsarukyan won the biggest fight of his career at UFC 300 on Saturday night, defeating former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira via split decision. But it was what happened during Tsarukyan’s walkout that left fans speechless the next morning.
While walking to the octagon, Tsarukyan attacked a fan. Several videos were posted on X that showed him during his walkout, with his arm outstretched to shake a fan’s hand. Then Tsarukyan reacted suddenly, turning to the fan and appearing to punch them.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President and CEO Dana White commented on the incident with his signature mix of humor and bravado.
“Yeah, you might not want to hang onto things and grab people as they’re leaving,” White said. “These guys are all really excited and whatever, I’m sure we’re probably going to get sued, but we’ll deal with that on Monday as well.”
Tsarukyan also commented on what happened after the fight, via Bloody Elbow.
“He showed me that he wanted to punch me, and I wanted to punch him back, that’s all. Nobody shows me ‘fuck you’ [like that] It doesn’t matter who you are, I’ll punch you in the face.
“When you’re 200 meters away, I’m not going to punch you, but when you’re close to me it’s like someone automatically gets hurt.”
Tsarukyan hopes defeating Oliveira will give him a chance at a rematch with Islam Makhachev, the fighter he lost to in his UFC debut in 2019. If he gets that rematch, Tsarukyan may want to consider a highly choreographed dance number for his stoppage. of leaving himself open to being insulted by fans.
