Arman Tsarukyan recently secured a win at the RAF 06 Wrestling Event. However, the night ended in controversy. In the last moments of the last round, ‘Ahalkalakets’ started a brawl and attacked his opponent, Georgio Poullas, after Poullas allegedly provoked him. Naturally, the incident quickly sparked backlash online, while Dana White & Co. largely stayed silent on the matter until now.

For now, Arman Tsarukyan‘s title shot remains uncertain, as the promotion appears unhappy with his recent actions. Earlier this month, the lightweight contender said he expects to fight for the belt in “September or October,” possibly after the proposed title unification bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje at the White House event. However, at the post-fight presser following UFC 326 last night, Dana White suggested that his frustration with Tsarukyan goes beyond the RAF 06 incident.

Dana White reacts to Arman Tsarukyan’s latest controversy at RAF 06

“I don’t know. I’m not thrilled with Arman right now,” said Dana White at the UFC post-fight press conference on Tsarukyan’s next fight. “I’m, you know, and there are a lot of different reasons. It’s not just the stuff that you see publicly.”

A reporter then asked the UFC CEO to “elaborate” on the reasons behind his frustration with the Armenian phenom. White refused to expand on the issue.

Later in the press conference, another reporter asked whether Tsarukyan’s behavior could make the UFC hesitant in the future to allow fighters to compete in the RAF. After all, several UFC fighters, including Bo Nickal and Merab Dvalishvili, have already signed with the promotion. However, Dana White emphasized that Tsarukyan’s situation will not stop other fighters from competing in grappling or wrestling events.

“No, no, guys. No. Listen, there’s plenty of guys that wrestle who have,” Dana White added. “You know, been respectful of other guys that they wrestled. I understand there was some back and forth with both of those guys, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and Arman’s been smoking a lot lately. So, yeah, I don’t know.”

Arman Tsarukyan’s relationship with the UFC has remained rocky since January 2025. The tension began when he pulled out of a scheduled title fight against Islam Makhachev after missing weight. Tsarukyan later claimed he suffered a back injury, but the sudden withdrawal reportedly frustrated the promotion because it put a major event at risk.

Since then, Dana White & Co. have taken a more cautious approach toward Arman Tsarukyan’s position in the title picture. Notably, during the buildup to UFC 324, the promotion moved forward with Paddy Pimblett instead of returning ‘Ahalkalakets’ to the title conversation.

Tsarukyan’s fiery personality and short temper have also raised concerns inside the promotion. In fact, incidents around major cards like UFC 300 and the UFC Qatar Event had already drawn attention even before the RAF 06 episode.

Interestingly, UFC champ Alexander Volkanovski also pointed out a factor that may now work against Tsarukyan and contribute to the UFC’s frustration with him.

Alexander Volkanovski warns Tsarukyan about excessive PR push

Last year, Arman Tsarukyan also explained why the UFC allegedly bypassed him for UFC 324. According to ‘Ahalkalakets’, the event marked the promotion’s first major show tied to its partnership with Paramount. Because of that, the UFC reportedly prioritized bigger names in Western markets. Tsarukyan claimed the promotion chose Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje for the interim title fight because of their popularity in Western countries.

Since then, Arman Tsarukyan has kept himself highly visible on social media. He has appeared in content with popular streamers and creators. Notably, all of this happened in less than two months. The surge in visibility also fueled fan pressure on social media, with many urging the UFC to give Arman Tsarukyan a title shot.

While many fans believe he deserves the opportunity, former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski believes the aggressive push may not sit well with the promotion.

“I think he’s doing a great job promoting himself,” said Alexander Volkanovski. “You just got into a fight – that’s not going to look good for the UFC, obviously, because you don’t want to give them excuses to pull you, you know, like, ‘No, you ain’t getting it.”

However, the momentum now seems to shift away from Arman Tsarukyan. Earlier, Dana White said everything was fine between the UFC and Tsarukyan. But now, the situation appears to be moving in a different direction. So, what do you think about it? Share your thoughts below.