Arman Tsarukyan and Colby Covington agree to wrestling match after faceoff

Reports emerged on April 19, 2026, that Arman Tsarukyan and Colby Covington had a faceoff and verbally agreed to compete against each other in a wrestling match, though no official confirmation has been made and the arrangement should be treated as unconfirmed at this stage.

Tsarukyan, 29, enters this reported agreement on the back of a dominant performance at RAF 08. The Russian lightweight is currently ranked first in his division and carries an impressive 23-3-0 professional record. Fighting out of American Top Team, he lands 3.85 significant strikes per minute at a 50 percent striking accuracy rate and averages 3.26 takedowns per 15 minutes, making him a credible threat in any wrestling-based setting.

Covington, 38, is a veteran known for his relentless grappling-heavy style. The American, nicknamed "Chaos," trains out of MMA Masters and holds a 17-5-0 record. He averages 3.64 takedowns per 15 minutes, and his wrestling credentials have been a defining feature of his career. He stands five-foot-eleven with a 72-inch reach, matching Tsarukyan's reach despite the four-inch height advantage.

Why it matters

• Tsarukyan is the top-ranked lightweight contender, so any high-profile activity involving him draws divisional attention
• Covington is a decorated wrestling-based fighter whose credentials make this a genuinely competitive matchup on the mat
• The reported agreement is for a wrestling bout rather than an MMA contest, which shifts the competitive context considerably
• The unconfirmed nature of the arrangement means divisional or promotional implications remain unclear until an official announcement