Arman Tsarukyan has been hit with a 9 month suspension from the sport after he aimed a punch at a fan at UFC 300 in Las Vegas back in April.
The 27-year-old Tsarukyan, who is the current No.1 ranked lightweight contender had reacted badly when a fan taunted him during his walk-out at the event, leading him to throw a punch at the loudmouth before continuing to make his way to the Octagon.
The fan later apologized publicly for his part in the altercation and confirmed he wouldn’t be pressing charges, but nonetheless the Nevada State Athletic Commission didn’t take kindly to Tsarukyan’s actions and so they’ve punished him via a nine month suspension along with a $25,000 fine.
However, Tsarukyan can reduce his suspension to 6 months if he takes part in an anti-bullying campaign, and his manager has since confirmed that he intends to do so.
As such that would mean Tsarukyan would be free to compete again by October 12th, which could open up the possibility for him to compete on the UFC 308 card in Abu Dhabi a couple of of weeks later on October 26th.
Despite the distractions outside of the octagon, Tsarukyan still had a successful night at UFC 300, beating Charles Oliveira by split-decision in a title elimination fight that means he’s not likely heading into a fight for the title against Islam Makhachev, who previously defeated him by unanimous decision in his UFC debut back in April of 2019.
