American Airlines issues statement after kicking Arman Tsarukyan off his flight

American Airlines has explained why Arman Tsarukyan was kicked off a flight on Thursday.

The UFC lightweight contender was travelling from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, where he is set to co-main event at RAF 08 on Saturday night.

In the end, Arman Tsarukyan took a private jet ahead of his grappling match with Urijah Faber.

Initial reports suggested that Arman Tsarukyan was asked to leave the aircraft for using his phone during takeoff.

American Airlines claims the UFC fan favorite and his friends were standing in the aisle while the plane was taxiing.

Crew members attempted to get Tsarukyan and co. to return to their assigned seats before ultimately deciding to return to the gate.

“On April 16, American Airlines flight 513 returned to the gate at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for customers who refused to follow federal regulations,” American Airlines officials told MMA Fighting.

Arman Tsarukyan hasn’t explained the incident, but he appears to be unhappy with American Airlines.

“Got kicked off the flight,” he wrote on social media alongside a laughing face and middle finger emoji directed at American Airlines.

Tsarukyan also posted a photo of one of the staff, captioning the image, “Rude and unprofessional.”

Later, the 29-year-old shared a video of himself boarding the private jet that took him to Philadelphia.

“I hope they’re not gonna kick me off of this plane,” Tsarukyan captioned the post.