Video: UFC’s Arman Tsarukyan kicked off plane headed for RAF 08 because …

Always something with “Ahalkalakets.”

No. 2-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight contender and almost title challenger Arman Tsarukyan is scheduled to compete against MMA legend Urijah Faber at RAF 08 this weekend (Sat., April 18, 2026) inside Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

That is…

If he can actually get there.

According to journalist Adam Zubayraev, Tsarukyan was removed from an American Airlines flight bound for Philadelphia after an incident during takeoff.

Zubayraev shared footage of Tsarukyan being escorted off the plane, along with an explanation of what led to the situation.

“Simply because someone on the team was on their phone while the plane was taking off. And the second person opened up a table,” Zubayraev said. “Because of this, Arman and two of his friends were kicked off the flight headed to the RAF tournament.”

Check out the video below:

Arman Tsarukyan was reportedly just kicked off an American Airlines flight because he was "looking at his phone during takeoff" 😬

(via @AdamZubayraev) pic.twitter.com/X2mRiKsCHR

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 16, 2026

Now… that explanation feels a little thin.

Plenty of people have been on their phone before a flight without getting tossed — so it wouldn’t be shocking if there was more to the story.

Still, it’s just the latest odd headline involving Tsarukyan, who has built a bit of a reputation for chaos outside the cage. UFC CEO Dana White has even labeled him a “maniac” recently.

Tsarukyan hasn’t competed in the Octagon since demolishing Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar (watch highlights). However, he has remained extremely active outside the promotion, competing in everything from RAF to multiple high-profile grappling matches.

Next, he’ll try to add Faber’s scalp to his collection.

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