Chimaev-Danis brawl at RAF 10 leaves promotion CEO undecided on both fighters' futures

A post-match brawl involving Khamzat Chimaev, Dillon Danis, and members of both fighters’ entourages overshadowed Chimaev’s debut victory at RAF 10, leaving promotion CEO Chad Bronstein to review footage before determining any consequences for either competitor.

The chaos broke out moments after Chimaev secured a pinfall victory early in the first period. Danis appeared to maintain his grip on Chimaev’s leg after the referee called the match, prompting Chimaev to kick him free. Within seconds, both fighters were going at each other as security scrambled to intervene, and team members from both camps poured onto the stage.

Bronstein was not watching from the sidelines. “I actually ended up being in the middle of it trying to make sure I subdue the situation, and I put myself in harm’s way to try to make sure nobody was getting hurt,” he said at the RAF 10 post-match press conference. “That was not a good situation.”

Because Bronstein was physically inside the brawl rather than observing it, he said he cannot yet make a ruling on what happens next. “I just have to review the situation,” he said. “Eric and myself, later on today, have to review the tape because I can’t really answer.”

The incident marks the second time a post-match brawl has disrupted a RAF event. A similar scene unfolded when Arman Tsarukyan punched Georgio Poullas following a contentious, foul-filled match. Bronstein said RAF increased security after that episode, but acknowledged the measures were insufficient to contain the Chimaev-Danis situation.

“We’re 10 shows in, we had it happen once, now two,” Bronstein said. “We just have to make sure again that any of those matches happen, security’s even bigger so we don’t have that situation.”

Bronstein was clear that the brawl ran counter to what RAF is trying to build. “I don’t think for what we do for wrestling this is what we want,” he said. “It should just stay on the stage. We talked to both of them prior to the match and said keep it all wrestling on the stage. The wrestling world deserves wrestling. That’s what we’re here to provide.”

Eric Bischoff, RAF’s chief media officer, has previously described the promotion as family entertainment — a framing that makes a stage-clearing brawl a particularly uncomfortable headline for the organisation to manage. Whether Chimaev or Danis faces suspension or any other sanction will depend on what the tape shows once Bronstein and Bischoff complete their review.