At UFC Qatar, Arman Tsarukyan went for Dan Hooker‘s head, quite literally! After a headbutt that helped heat up the Fight Night right during the face-offs, we all knew Doha wasn’t playing around. Who knew the zestiest twist would come outside the octagon, firing up the crowds.

When Ian Machado Garry went to greet the main card star of the show, Arman Tsarukyan, a heated exchange with middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev bubbled up. Things escalated quickly, and the latter shoved Garry in a fit of rage. Now, as the dust has settled, Tsarukyan is ready to spill the tea.

Khamzat Chimaev went 2-0 at UFC Qatar

‘Borz’ wasn’t even on the card in Doha, and still managed to command one of the top headlines after Qatar. While the physical altercation with Ian Garry picked up traction in the media, many don’t know that Khamzat Chimaev actually went off against two people that day. Speaking to Daniel Cormier, Chimaev’s training partner Tsarukyan revealed what went down.

“Khamzat had a 2–0 that day,” Tsarukyan began. “We just came from the bus, and we were getting into the arena, and one bodyguard pushed Khamzat and said, ‘Hey, go back and come back again.’ Like, it was some security thing, you know? And he wouldn’t let Khamzat in the building. He just wouldn’t let him get in. So Khamzat was like bam, pushed him.”

We all know security hassles can be loaded, and that’s exactly what set off Khamzat Chimaev. Looks like the security wasn’t having any of it, calling the police to the scene. “And then when we go to the locker room, they call the police. They take him out. Then he came back. They take him out again. He came back again,” detailed the lightweight star.

Later that day, the scuffle reached Tsarukyan’s corner after Ian Garry, fresh off his own weightweight victory, walked over to the Armenian fighter. As Garry turned to walk to his post-fight conference, ‘Borz’ struck, shoving him. The security intervened at the perfect time, preventing the rash from dissolving into punches.

The welterweight, eyeing division champion Islam Makhachev next, quickly called out, “That’s just childish. You’re meant to be a champion of this sport. Your friend just won, don’t ruin his victory.” However, Chimaev has a different version of the story.

Chimaev explains his stance

All seemed cordial about their fateful encounter until the security jumped in to separate the two fighters. Ian Garry assured the security that Khamzat Chimaev wasn’t “going to fight” him. Meant as a nod to the cool conversation both fighters had, Chimaev seemed to take offence at that statement, raging, “F*** you, brother.”

However, according to Chimaev, there’s more to the story. The middleweight claimed that Garry had “punched” him from the back, which the Chechen found disrespectful. Putting forth his side of the altercation, Chimaev shared, “Don’t punch somebody from behind, you know. He punched, like slapping my back.”

“If you want to show respect, respectfully touch somebody. That’s what I tell him, touch somebody respectful. But he came like that to make some hype. Like, you know that guy, trying to be Conor [McGregor]. He never gonna be Conor. He’s a sh*t fighter,” Chimaev continued, revealing how Garry tried being a McGregor knockoff.

However, there isn’t much evidence to support this story. The video clips available show Garry touching Chimaev’s shoulder, not so much as a punch or a slap. But only the two know how hard it was. Regardless, now that the scuffle is all done and dusted, the two sides can again focus on their respective divisions.