Merab Dvalishvili has voiced his frustration with Arman Tsarukyan, following a controversial moment in Tsarukyan’s recent match.

With no immediate fight booked in the UFC, Tsarukyan has stayed active through appearances in Real American Freestyle (RAF), where he recently faced Urijah Faber.
The match ended in unusual fashion after both competitors fell off the mats, with Tsarukyan ultimately earning a win by technical fall.

Later, Tsarukyan admitted that the sequence wasn’t entirely accidental, that he had intentionally forced Faber off the mat following pre-match trash talk.

That explanation didn’t sit well with Dvalishvili:

They did offer me Arman Tsarukyan, but that matchup doesn’t make sense.
He’s two weight classes bigger than me, and I saw what Arman did against the legend Urijah Faber, and I was disappointed.

Dvalishvili made it clear that his issue wasn’t just about the result, but the manner in which it happened:

Arman should not have thrown him out like that. Urijah’s a very good man, great fighter…
It wasn’t necessary what he did.

The controversy appears to have directly influenced Dvalishvili’s decision-making.
While he had previously considered a grappling match with Tsarukyan, he ultimately declined:

I was thinking about competing with him before that… We all know he’s a better wrestler and grappler than me.
But then my nose cut reopened, and I told them: “No.”

Arman Tsarukyan secured a technical fall victory over Urijah Faber in the RAF08 main event, in a bout marked by both dominance and a dramatic moment.

The Armenian lightweight, fresh off his UFC win over Dan Hooker in Qatar, has been active in grappling, with RAF Wrestling… pic.twitter.com/AogujRT6KK

— 301🇦🇲 (@301arm) April 19, 2026

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