Arman Tsarukyan vs. Urijah Faber set for RAF 8 co-headliner in April
Arman Tsarukyan is seemingly determined to compete every other week. Just days after his victorious rematch against Georgio Poullas at RAF 7 , the top-ranked UFC lightweight has agreed to wrestle UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber on April 18 in the 175-pound co-main event of RAF 8. The announcement marks the latest side-quest for Tsarukyan, who has already competed four times outside of the UFC in 2026.
Arman Tsarukyan is back. He’ll face Urijah Faber at RAF 8 on April 18 in Philadelphia, per RAF officials. 175 pounds.
pic. twitter. com/OZZVsy4ltY — Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 1, 2026 Tsarukyan, 29, defeated Lance Palmer in January at RAF 5, ignited a wild brawl in a win over Poullas in late February at RAF 6, then bested former UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev in a grappling match in Brazil just weeks later.
Tsarukyan pushed his RAF record to 3-0 this past Saturday with an impressive showing in the Poullas rematch, winning by a 9-3 score after pulling off a high-flying late takedown to seal his victory. Tsarukyan told Uncrowned on Monday that following conversations with UFC officials , he is also preparing to serve as the backup fighter for June’s UFC White House main event, which pits UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria against interim champ Justin Gaethje. "I'm going to train to be in shape if something happens in main event in White House, I'll be [the] backup [fighter]," Tsarukyan said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.
” "So I'll [be ready to] fight there. And then they'll announce my next fight after Ilia vs. Gaethje.