Arman Tsarukyan and Colby Covington have conducted a face-off and agreed to meet in an upcoming wrestling match. The two fighters came to this agreement following their staredown encounter. The post does not specify when or where this wrestling match will take place, or which organization will host it. This represents a crossover from their MMA careers into pure wrestling competition. The announcement asks fans to pick their favorite between the two competitors.
Arman Tsarukyan and Colby Covington have agreed to face each other in a wrestling match, with the two fighters sealing the arrangement following a face-off and staredown. No date, venue, or hosting organization has been announced for the contest.
Tsarukyan, known as "Ahalkalakets," enters this crossover challenge as the number-one ranked lightweight contender in the UFC at just 29 years old. The Russian fighter, who trains out of American Top Team, carries a 23-3 record and has built a reputation as one of MMA's most complete athletes. He lands 3.85 significant strikes per minute at a 50 percent accuracy rate, and his takedown output sits at 3.26 per 15 minutes — numbers that speak to a well-rounded game that will translate directly into a pure wrestling setting.
Covington, nicknamed "Chaos," is a 38-year-old welterweight from the United States who trains with MMA Masters and holds a 17-5 record. He has long positioned himself as one of the elite wrestling-based fighters in MMA, averaging 3.64 takedowns per 15 minutes across his career. At five-foot-eleven with a 72-inch reach, he carries a size advantage over the five-foot-seven Tsarukyan, though both men share that same 72-inch reach.
Why it matters
- Covington built his MMA identity on relentless wrestling pressure, making this format a natural showcase for his core skill set
- Tsarukyan's takedown numbers are comparable to Covington's, meaning the grappling matchup is far from one-sided
- The contest crosses divisional lines, pitting a welterweight against the UFC's top-ranked lightweight
- No sanctioning body or competitive framework has been confirmed, leaving the format and stakes undefined for now
