Eric Bischoff calls Chimaev-Danis brawl 'not a good situation'

Real American Freestyle co-founder Eric Bischoff condemned the wild brawl that erupted after Khamzat Chimaev tech-falled Dillon Danis at RAF 10 on Saturday night in St. Louis.

The chaos started when Danis attempted an illegal choke after Chimaev pinned him in just 50 seconds, MMA Mania reports. Danis then kicked Chimaev after the former UFC middleweight contender stood up. Chimaev kicked back, and dozens of people rushed the mat in what turned into a sprawling melee. Per MMA Fighting's video of Bischoff's post-event comments, the former WCW executive made clear this was not the brand image RAF wants.

Bischoff vows RAF will address Chimaev-Danis incident

"It was not a good situation at all," Bischoff said. "Listen, we're committed to being family-friendly combat sports. There's such good will in the sport of wrestling across the board so that's what we want to nurture and that's what we want to grow. What we saw tonight was not what we want to grow, and it will be addressed going forward."

RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein said both fighters were told beforehand to keep everything on the mat and warned against cornermen or extras storming the stage. Bronstein called the security breakdown unacceptable and said the promotion will beef up protocols for volatile matchups. The melee marked the second major brawl in RAF's ten-event history, following the Arman Tsarukyan-Georgio Poullas incident at RAF 6.

Bischoff added that 98 percent of the card met their standards, and the promotion will take corrective action to prevent similar scenes. Whether that includes barring Chimaev or Danis from future RAF events remains to be seen.

Reported via:

• MMA Mania — RAF founder Eric Bischoff reacts to Chimaev vs. Danis brawl: ‘Not a good situation at all’