Khamzat Chimaev discusses brawl with Dillon Danis after wrestling match

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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 09: Khamzat Chimaev of Russia prepares to face Sean Strickland in the UFC middleweight championship fight during the UFC 328 event at Prudential Center on May 09, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Khamzat Chimaev wasn’t totally shocked that his wrestling match against Dillon Danis at RAF 10 ended in chaos. After the former UFC middleweight champion scored a rapid-fire pinfall win in the first period, Danis held onto Chimaev’s foot as the referee tried breaking them apart. A second later, Chimaev kicked Danis in the leg and that led to a massive brawl erupting on stage with dozens of people flooding the area as RAF officials desperately tried to maintain control over the situation. View this post on Instagram On Sunday, Chimaev broke his silence about the entire ordeal after he left the arena immediately following the melee with Danis. “What should I think? Stupid guys do stupid things,” Chimaev said about Danis to Red Corner MMA. “I accept something like that. He knows he wasn’t my level in wrestling so he felt that and then he tried to sub me. Like do submission, bro. If he did a submission on me, I’m never going to train again. “He’s a weird guy, honestly. You know I try to hold myself but this idiot do stupid things. What should we do?” Earlier in the week prior to the match, Chimaev invited Danis to a street fight if the grappling champion and former Bellator fighter really wanted to test himself against one of the top middleweights in the world. The volatility dialed down during the RAF 10 pre-match press conference where Chimaev shrugged off Danis’ comments and they had a playful but not contentious faceoff. That all changed on Saturday after Danis almost appeared to grab for a guillotine choke during Chimaev’s first takedown attempt before he got the pinfall seconds later. RAF officials were not happy with the situation but there’s no decision yet on whether or not the brawl could prevent either Chimaev or Danis from returning to work with the promotion again. As far as the future goes, Chimaev says he really does welcome a street fight with Danis if he’s serious about settling some unfinished business between them. “I was thinking winning the match then outside I want to ask him let’s go. Let’s dance outside,” Chimaev said. “I asked him before like [let’s] do a street fight, you know? He don’t want it. He knew a lot of security is going to be there and that’s why he was doing same shit stuff. “Whenever he wants, just send me a message [with] location wherever you are and so I’m open.”

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Khamzat Chimaev has shared his thoughts on the viral brawl with Dillon Danis following their brief RAF10 freestyle wrestling match. That match was won by Chimaev in just 50 seconds after he grabbed Danis in a fireman’s carry and pinned him for the win. But Danis wasn’t really trying to escape. He seemed to abandon […]

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Khamzat Chimaev invites Dillon Danis to a street fight after their wrestling match ended in chaos