Arman Tsarukyan To Face Tony Ferguson

Originally posted on BoxingNews.com | Last updated May 2, 2026 6:16 AM ET

Arman Tsarukyan has booked a second consecutive weekend of grappling, adding a wrestling match against former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson at RAF 10 on June 13.

The booking drops just two weeks after Tsarukyan is set to compete at RAF 9 on May 30 in Arlington, Texas, where he faces Mugzy at middleweight. If both appearances proceed as planned, Tsarukyan will have competed for the promotion six times in six months — a remarkable output for a fighter who simultaneously sits second in the UFC’s lightweight rankings.

His RAF run began earlier this year with a technical fall over Lance Palmer and gathered pace through back-to-back wins over Georgio Poullas before the high-profile stoppage of UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber at RAF 8 in April. That finish drew the anger of Merab Dvalishvili and significant scrutiny from within the MMA community, but Tsarukyan has shown no signs of slowing down.

The Match-Up

Statistics	Arman Tsarukyan	Tony Ferguson
MMA Record	23-3	26-11
UFC Ranking	No. 2 Lightweight	Unranked
Last UFC Fight	W – Hooker (UD, Nov 2025)	L – Chiesa (Aug 2024)
UFC Losing Streak	N/A	8 consecutive losses
Post-UFC Activity	5x RAF wins	2x Misfits Boxing wins
Title History	No. 1 Contender	Former Interim UFC LW Champion

In the UFC, Tsarukyan remains firmly in the title picture. His most recent Octagon appearance came in November 2025, a win over Dan Hooker that kept him positioned directly behind champion Ilia Topuria at 155 pounds. He is awaiting the outcome of the Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje unification bout at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14.

Ferguson arrives at a very different stage of his career. His UFC tenure ended in August 2024 following a loss to Michael Chiesa — the eighth defeat in a row for a fighter who once held the interim lightweight title and built one of the most remarkable unbeaten streaks the division had seen.

Since leaving the UFC, Ferguson has competed twice in the Misfits Boxing ring, defeating Warren Spencer and Salt Papi in 2025. Both wins came against significantly lower-level competition, but they represent the first victories of any kind he has managed in years. RAF 10 marks his debut in the grappling promotion and by far his stiffest test since returning to competition.

This article first appeared on BoxingNews.com and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: