Arman Tsarukyan faces criticism after controversial Faber clash

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Arman Tsarukyan faces criticism after controversial Faber clash

Originally posted on HITC | By Harvey Leonard | Last updated Apr 23, 2026 9:41 AM ET

Arman Tsarukyan stepped onto the mat last Saturday with something to prove.

The top-ranked lightweight contender has stayed busy outside the UFC, and on April 18, he headlined the eighth Real American Freestyle event in Philadelphia.

After already picking up wins over Lance Palmer and Georgio Poullas within the promotion, Tsarukyan faced Urijah Faber at RAF08 and came away with another win.

But it wasn’t his performance that had people talking. Instead, it was yet another moment of controversy added to his growing list.

Arman Tsarukyan says he meant to ‘hurt’ Urijah Faber when he threw him off the RAF stage

Tsarukyan secured a tech fall over Faber, who once held the WEC featherweight belt and challenged for UFC titles multiple times. During their bout at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, the Armenian fighter tossed his opponent clear off the mat.

The 46-year-old was driven through the commentary desk and onto the floor below, narrowly missing commentator Chael Sonnen in the process.

Nobody was hurt in the exchange, and Faber even joked that it helped fix an old injury. But Tsarukyan caught plenty of criticism for what many saw as an unnecessary risk.

Tsarukyan didn’t back away from that criticism, saying he had every intention of hurting Faber after all of his pre-fight talk.

“I forgot this was mat. I thought we were still in the cage,” Tsarukyan said during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.

“It was good nothing happened… I wanted to hurt him, to be honest. Because he was talking too much.”

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: