Arman Tsarukyan defeated Urijah Faber by a dominant 13-1 technical superiority score in a wrestling match at RAF. The bout showcased Tsarukyan's wrestling credentials with an emphatic performance. During the match, Tsarukyan threw Faber outside the mat boundaries and executed a high-amplitude throw. This was the main news from the UFC RAF wrestling event this week.
Arman Tsarukyan made a commanding statement on the wrestling mat at a UFC RAF event, defeating Urijah Faber by technical superiority with a dominant 13-1 score.
Tsarukyan, 29, holds a 23-3 professional MMA record and is currently ranked number one in the UFC lightweight division. The Russian fighter, who trains out of American Top Team, stands five-foot-seven with a 72-inch reach and brings serious grappling credentials into any competition. His MMA output reflects that wrestling base, with 3.26 takedowns per 15 minutes and a striking accuracy of 50 percent on 3.85 significant strikes landed per minute. Against Faber, he demonstrated those skills emphatically, throwing the American off the mat boundaries and landing a high-amplitude throw en route to the lopsided technical victory.
Faber, the 47-year-old veteran known as "The California Kid," carries a career record of 35-11-0 and built his reputation as one of the most decorated fighters in bantamweight and featherweight history. Fighting out of Team Alpha Male, the five-foot-six Californian has a 67-inch reach and averages 1.54 takedowns per 15 minutes in MMA competition. At this stage of his career, however, he was clearly outmatched on the wrestling mat by his younger opponent.
Why it matters
- Tsarukyan reinforces his wrestling pedigree ahead of what figures to be a pivotal stretch at lightweight
- The 13-1 technical superiority score reflects a level of mat control rarely seen in exhibition bouts
- For Faber, now 47, the result underscores the significant physical gap between the two generations of fighters
