Arman Tsarukyan delivered a dominant performance against Urijah Faber, winning by technical superiority with a 13-1 score. After the fight, Tsarukyan kept his promise to throw Faber into the fans, doing exactly as he vowed at the press conference. Post-fight, Tsarukyan issued a challenge to Colby Covington, declaring he will aim for a 10-0 score and won't give him a single point. He explained he gave one point to Faber out of respect for his veteran status, but will fight with everything he has against Covington. Tsarukyan vowed to make people forget about Covington as a fighter and as a wrestler. The summary also notes that Khamzat Chimaev signed with RAF, and Bo Nickal immediately challenged the champion in response.
Arman Tsarukyan capped a commanding performance on April 19, 2026, by defeating Urijah Faber via technical superiority with a lopsided 13-1 score, then immediately setting his sights on Colby Covington.
Faber, the 47-year-old American veteran known as "The California Kid," came in carrying a professional record of 35-11. Fighting out of Team Alpha Male in an Orthodox stance, the five-foot-six, 168-centimeter fighter has built a career reputation on toughness and grit, but the scoreline left little room for debate on the night. Tsarukyan had made a promise at the pre-fight press conference to throw Faber into the crowd, and he followed through after the final buzzer.
In his post-fight remarks, Tsarukyan said he deliberately gave Faber that single point as a gesture of respect toward his veteran status. He showed no such intention when discussing Covington, promising a 10-0 shutout and vowing to erase Covington's reputation both as a fighter and as a wrestler.
Elsewhere on the card, a significant organizational story broke when Khamzat Chimaev, the number-one ranked middleweight and number-ten pound-for-pound fighter, signed with RAF. The 32-year-old Chimaev carries a 15-1 record and fights out of Allstars Training Center. Standing six-foot-two with a 191-centimeter reach, "Borz" averages an eye-catching 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes and lands significant strikes at a rate of 4.04 per minute. Bo Nickal, the 30-year-old southpaw out of American Top Team Happy Valley who holds a 9-1 record, responded to the signing by immediately calling out the champion.
Why it matters
- Tsarukyan's dominant victory and Covington callout reshape the welterweight landscape heading into the next ranking cycle
- Chimaev's move to RAF could accelerate a showdown with Nickal, who boasts a 61 percent striking accuracy and 3.1 takedowns per 15 minutes of his own
- Nickal publicly challenging the champion signals he views himself ready for a title shot within the new promotional framework
