Arman Tsarukyan’s grappling career continues to roll on.
Real American Freestyle announced Wednesday that the top UFC lightweight contender is already set to return to the mats as he takes on UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber in a 175-pound catchweight bout in the co-main event of RAF 8 on April 18 in Philadelphia. Yahoo! Sports was first to report the matchup.
See RAF’s announcement post below.
Faber was originally scheduled to wrestle Cayden Henschel on the card, but Henschel now faces two-time PFL tournament champion Lance Palmer. The reason for the change was not announced.
This is another quick turnaround for Tsarukyan, who competes in his seventh grappling match since his most recent UFC fight this past November. Since a dominant submission win over Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar, Tsarukyan has competed for RAF, Hype FC, and ACBJJ against several notable opponents including fellow UFC fighter Shara Bullet, Muhammad Mokaev, and Palmer. This past weekend, Tsarukyan defeated rival Georgio Pullas at RAF 7 to settle their two-fight series.
It’s unclear when Tsarukyan will be booked for his next UFC fight as he continues to have a contentious relationship with the promotion and UFC CEO Dana White.
Faber makes his second appearance under the RAF banner. This past February, he lost via tech fall to Henry Cejudo at RAF 6. The 46-year-old is best known for his time as WEC featherweight champion and then his run as a UFC bantamweight contender 2011 to 2019, when he retired from MMA competition.
RAF 8 is headlined by a 155-pound bout between Cejudo and recent bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvilli, a rematch of sorts from their UFC 298 encounter that Dvalishvili won by unanimous decision. The event takes place at Liacouras Center in Philadelphia and airs live on Fox Nation.