Sometimes fighters say they’re trying to stay out of trouble, and then a clip drops that pulls them right back into it. That’s exactly what happened as Arman Tsarukyan finds himself in the headlines again for another controversial moment.

The lightweight contender, who recently stated on The Ariel Helwani Show that he wants to prove he can behave, claiming it to be the reason why he wore handcuffs as he appeared at cageside during UFC 326, is now going viral for doing the exact opposite —and fans are not taking it lightly this time.

Fans panic as Arman Tsarukyan holds choke too long on livestream

In a clip from his recent livestream, Arman Tsarukyan is seen demonstrating a sleeper hold on a fan sitting in front of him. At first glance, it looks controlled. However, as the choke stays locked in, the fan goes unconscious, and ‘Ahalkalakets’ continues to squeeze for several more seconds.

By the time he releases the hold, the fan’s body reacts, briefly convulsing before Tsarukyan checks on him. Thankfully, the fan wakes up, but the moment had already spiraled online.

The reactions were immediate. “His lawyer seeing this,” one fan commented, while another added, “Arman trying to kill fans on a Thursday.” Some even timed it: “He was out at 13 seconds.” For many, the issue wasn’t just that the fan was choked but how long it lasted after he was already out.

That was where most of the criticism came in. “Why did he hold on so long?” one fan asked. Another wrote, “He held that 10 seconds longer than he should’ve.” A few others pointed out basic safety awareness, “Not great awareness from Arman. He should have told the fan to raise his hands so he knows when he goes out, a couple more secs could cause permanent damage.”

Then came the jokes, with Dana White catching strays again. “Dana’s on his way to use this as another excuse,” one fan wrote. Another joked, “Arman forgot it was a fan and not Dana White for not giving him a title shot.” On the surface, it is funny, but it represents something deeper: Tsarukyan’s reputation is starting to follow him everywhere.

That is the major issue here. This isn’t an isolated moment. Between past altercations and recent attempts to prove he has changed —even showing up in handcuffs to signify he will behave —his clip just adds another layer to the narrative around him. Also, it is worth noting that when Arman Tsarukyan isn’t putting someone else in danger, he prefers to be the one facing death instead, as evident from the stunt he pulled just two days ago.

Tsarukyan tries to choke out an alligator

That same unpredictability didn’t just show up on a livestream with a fan. It followed Arman Tsarukyan into something even stranger just days earlier. Because, while people were questioning his judgment in one clip, another video showed him doing something completely different —but just as unsafe.

During a wildlife trip with N3ON and Nina Drama, Arman Tsarukyan got up close to an alligator and joked about putting it in a rear-naked choke. Sitting on the animal’s back, ‘Ahalkalakets’ asked whether he could lock it in, but then changed his mind and refrained from putting his arm near its mouth. Instead, he mimicked the gesture while laughing it off, turning the moment into something between a stunt and a joke.

So, whether it’s choking out a fan for too long or casually asking to grapple an alligator, it all contributes to the same image. Arman Tsarukyan isn’t just a fighter chasing a title but someone who seems just as comfortable flirting with danger outside the cage as he is inside it. But this time, it surely backfired in the public eye.