Twitter / @Mattfaulkner92 UPDATE11:03 AM PT -- Chad Marchman, a Dallas Stars fan who was sitting in a seat just feet below the altercation at the game, tells TMZ Sports ... the fracas all initially started due to some confusion over who was in whose seats.
UPDATEMarchman said the man in the Benn jersey had been annoying people in the section after being asked to move -- before he was ultimately punched.
UPDATE Play video content
MULLET POWER UPDATEIn Marchman's footage of the aftermath of the haymaker, you can see the initial puncher suffered a bloody lip. You can also hear the man in the Benn jersey repeat the n-word.
UPDATEUltimately, according to Marchman, arena security got involved to separate everyone ... before the Benn fan was ejected from the area.
A Stars fan was socked in the face by a huge haymaker at Dallas' game on Wednesday night ... with the massive punch coming after the guy said the n-word.
The altercation went down just a few seats from the American Airlines Center ice ... when a man in a Jamie Benn jersey stopped watching the Stars vs. Wild tilt -- and began jawing with another fan behind him.
No word on why their beef initially began -- but the dude in the green No. 14 uni was clearly furious. At one point, he challenged the other fan to a fight ... saying, "How 'bout you step down here and I'll box your ass."
“Little Boy”
Stars game got wild lastnight @barstoolsports pic.twitter.com/LzoKYzC1zo
The guy in the black polo didn't respond -- and that's when the Benn fan, who's white, muttered the n-word.
"All right then," he could be heard saying. "Stay the f*** up there. Dumbass n****."
Almost immediately after the word left his mouth, the fan in the black shirt, who's also white, threw a right hand that landed flush. It actually appeared to briefly knock the Benn fan unconscious.
The two scuffled for a few moments following the blow -- before another woman raced in and threw a bevy of punches of her own.
Eventually, other fans stepped in before the altercation became even more violent.
It's unclear how the situation was resolved -- we've reached out to cops to see if any arrests were made, but no word back yet.
As for the game, the Stars were clearly unbothered by the ruckus in the crowd -- they were able to cruise to a 4-1 victory over Minnesota.
Originally Published -- 7:59 AM PT
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