Arman Tsarukyan tech-falls Urijah Faber at RAF 8 main event
Arman Tsarukyan handed Urijah Faber a lopsided defeat Saturday night, tech-falling the 46-year-old former WEC champion 13-1 in the third period at RAF 8 in Philadelphia.
The bout, originally slated as the co-main event at Temple’s Liacouras Center, was bumped to the headliner after Henry Cejudo withdrew hours before the card due to injury, per MMA Fighting. Tsarukyan, the No. 2-ranked lightweight contender in the UFC, improved to 3-0 in Real American Freestyle competition despite minimal freestyle wrestling experience before joining the promotion.
Tsarukyan launches Faber off the stage in second period
Faber, significantly smaller and giving away 22 years to his opponent, held his feet in the opening exchanges but had no answer once Tsarukyan locked into tie-ups. The Armenian racked up eight points in the first period off snap-downs and gut-wrenches, according to MMA Mania’s live coverage. The second period brought the night’s wildest moment when Tsarukyan drove Faber on a single-leg takedown clear off the elevated stage and over the commentary table. Both men escaped injury. “RAF, next time you need two mats for me,” Tsarukyan said afterward, per the MMA Fighting live blog. He added that the push-out was unintentional and called Faber a legend.
Tsarukyan finished the match in the third period with a high-crotch throw. In the post-bout scrum, he called out Colby Covington, who was cageside and booked to face Chris Weidman at a future RAF card. Covington climbed into the interview area and said he wanted Tsarukyan instead. Tsarukyan responded by saying he’d take Chael Sonnen after beating Covington.
Kyle Snyder retained his light heavyweight title in the co-main event, defeating Rizabek Aitmukhan 12-6 on points. Helen Maroulis won the women’s 130-pound championship with a second-period technical fall over Alexis Janiak. RAF returns May 30 with Gable Steveson facing an opponent nicknamed “King Kong” and the Weidman-Covington wrestling match on the card.
Photo by yousef samuil on Unsplash
Original reporting:
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