Arman Tsarukyan delivered a dominant wrestling performance against Urijah Faber, winning 13-1 at a RAF event. During the match, Tsarukyan executed a dramatic sequence where he threw Faber completely off the wrestling mat before landing an amplitude throw. The UFC fighter's wrestling display was characterized as the main news from the UFC RAF event this week. The one-sided victory showcased Tsarukyan's grappling superiority in a wrestling-specific competition. Details about whether this was purely a wrestling match or had other implications were limited in the post.
Arman Tsarukyan put on a commanding wrestling display at a UFC RAF event this week, defeating Urijah Faber by a lopsided 13-1 margin in what stood as the headline moment of the competition.
Tsarukyan, 29, enters the encounter as the number-one ranked lightweight contender in the UFC, carrying a professional MMA record of 23-3-0. The Russian fighter out of American Top Team stands five-foot-seven with a 72-inch reach and has built a reputation as one of the division's most active grapplers, averaging 3.26 takedowns per 15 minutes inside the octagon. His striking output is equally sharp, connecting at a 50 percent accuracy rate with 3.85 significant strikes landed per minute. The RAF wrestling match gave him a separate stage to demonstrate his grappling pedigree, and he did not waste it — at one point throwing Faber completely off the mat before following with an amplitude throw that encapsulated the one-sidedness of the bout.
Urijah Faber, the 47-year-old veteran known as "The California Kid," holds a career MMA record of 35-11-0 and remains one of the most decorated fighters in bantamweight and featherweight history. Competing out of Team Alpha Male, Faber stands five-foot-six with a 67-inch reach. His MMA numbers reflect a more strike-and-submit style, averaging 0.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes alongside 2.65 significant strikes landed per minute.
Why it matters
- Tsarukyan's wrestling volume — over three takedowns per 15 minutes in MMA — translated directly into a dominant showing in a pure wrestling format.
- The performance reinforces his credentials as a well-rounded threat at lightweight ahead of any future title pursuits.
- For Faber, the 13-1 scoreline reflects the significant gap in age and current competitive level between the two men.
