American Airlines Kicks Out Arman Tsarukyan; UFC Star Flexes Private Jet in Retaliation

Trouble seems to keep finding UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan wherever he goes as new controversy arises.

American Airlines Kicks Out Arman Tsarukyan; UFC Star Flexes Private Jet in Retaliation

Arman Tsarukyan (Via BBC)

In Short
  • Arman Tsarukyan and his entourage were removed from an American Airlines flight for allegedly using their phones during takeoff.
  • Following the incident, Tsarukyan chartered a private jet and criticized the airline on social media.
  • The UFC lightweight contender is currently training with Khamzat Chimaev while awaiting his next fight opportunity.

UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan seems unable to keep himself out of trouble. He has been embroiled in controversy ever since he pulled out of UFC 311. Now, as he gears up to face Urijah Faber at RAF 08, he faces yet another challenging situation.

Tsarukyan and his entourage were aboard an American Airlines flight headed from Los Angeles to Philadelphia. However, things went awry before the flight even took off.

It seems Tsarukyan and his team were escorted off the flight shortly after boarding it. Journalist Adam Zubayraev shared a video of this incident on X along with some additional details. The Armenian can be seen speaking to airline officials and eventually smiling in the clip while being escorted out of the aytircraft.

American Airlines are yet to comment on the situation. However, people using their phones on airplane mode during flights is commonplace. It doesn’t usually lead to their ejection. So, there may be another twist in this tale beyond the clip Adam Zubayrev posted.

Nonetheless, being removed from the flight didn’t play spoiler to Tsarukyan’s travel plans like one would expect. Instead, the Armenian went ahead and simply got a private charter. Furthermore, the 29-year-old lambasted the airlines for their actions while flexing his private plane.

I hope they don’t, like, kick me out from this plane…Okay guys, I’ll be in five hours in Philadelphia.

Arman Tsarukyan on Instagram after being removed from American Airlines flight

The UFC’s No. 2 ranked lightweight contender clearly isn’t above publicly retaliating against American Airlines. He also posted a story of a stewardess on Instagram with the caption, “Rude and Unprofessional.”

This is but the latest entry in the litany of controversial moments involving the Armenian. It seems he simply can’t help it at this point. Arman Tsarukyan’s recent actions have seemingly rubbed the UFC brass the wrong way. It precisely points to the reason behind Colby Covington recently alleging that the former was being “iced out” by the UFC.

However, the 29-year-old himself does not seem to perturbed by all the controversy surrounding him. In fact, he seems to be having the time of his life doing side quests despite also calling out challengers in his divison. But Tsarukyan recently also revealed what would stop this streak.

Arman Tsarukyan says side quest run ends when he enters fight camp

The Armenian lightweight’s recent escapades have earned him a lot of fans. Whether it’s confronting Giorgio Poullas with Nina Drama’s help or flexing rare sneakers on a private jet, Tsarukyan’s always up to something.

Arman Tsarukyan
Arman Tsarukyan (via Bloody Elbow)

Tsarukyan is currently a part of Khamzat Chimaev‘s training camp for the latter’s upcoming title defense. Tsarukyan’s video on his YouTube channel showed behind-the-scenes footage of them preparing for the Sean Strickland main event bout next month. In it, the lightweight star revealed that once he enters a training camp of his own is when these side quests stop.

No way. I live for MMA. You cannot compete for MMA if you [are] doing side quests.

Arman Tsarukyan in a video on his YouTube channel

As things stand though, Tsarukyan is stuck in lightweight limbo. Despite being the most deserving contender, he was not included in the interim title fight at UFC 324. His most recent fight was the win over Dan Hooker almost half a year ago.

The lightweight champion Ilia Topuria is booked up for the White House against Justin Gaethje. Consequently, it appears there are no viable fights on the horizon for the Armenian.

Moreover, Topuria has expressed an interest in going up to welterweight to fight Islam Makhachev. That would mean Tsarukyan would have to wait even longer to fight for a title. So, this pursuit of secondary objectives for the lightweight contender may be here to stay.

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