Arman Tsarukyan: Dispute with ‘rude’ airline attendant led to removal from plane

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 16: Arman Tsarukyan of Georgia is seen on stage during the UFC 311 press conference at Intuit Dome on January 16, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Arman Tsarukyan was forced to exit an American Airlines flight ahead of his RAF 8 match in Philadelphia and now he’s sharing his side of the story. On Thursday, a video showing Tsarukyan being escorted off of a plane emerged online, courtesy of vlogger Adam Zubayraev, who claimed it was because the UFC lightweight contender was on his phone prior to takeoff.

American Airlines later released a statement, stating that Tsarukyan’s removal was due to him and his friends not “staying seated while the aircraft is taxiing. ” Tsarukyan and his friends then took a private jet to Philadelpha instead and Tsarukyan was in attendance at the RAF 8 pre-fight press conference to offer his version of events. “So I had a team, we were 11 of us,” Tsarukyan said.

“We’re just getting in the plane, it was, like, three empty seats, I asked the lady because my seat was next to my friend and he’s a little bit big, and I said, OK, maybe there is an empty seat. So I asked the lady, ‘Can I sit here? ’ She doesn’t say yes or no.

She said, ‘Where’s your seat? ’ I said, ‘29A. ’ “‘Go there.