RAF 8 results: Arman Tsarukyan runs Urijah Faber off the mat in lopsided victory, calls out Colby Covington

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RAF 8 results: Arman Tsarukyan runs Urijah Faber off the mat in lopsided victory, calls out Colby Covington

Arman Tsarukyan did it again. Not only did he defeat Urijah Faber, to the surprise of very few, but he also found a way to create a viral video moment during their RAF 8 match in Philadelphia on Saturday night.

Tsarukyan ran away with the match from the very start, eventually earning a win via technical fall (13-1) after securing more than a 10-point lead over Faber. But before then, the controversial UFC lightweight contender managed to run Faber all the way off the mat and onto the concrete floor outside the competition area, nearly planting him in the first few rows of paid attendees.

Faber, 46, appeared none the worse for wear, and left the match in good spirits despite the loss.

Tsarukyan, 29, called out fellow UFC fighter Colby Covington following the victory, with both men apparently agreeing to a match at RAF 9 in May.

RAF 8’s original main event, a rematch of sorts between former UFC champions Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo, was canceled Saturday morning due to an injury to Cejudo. That left Kyle Snyder in an RAF light heavyweight title defense against Rizabek Aitmukhan as the co-main event. Snyder rallied back from a 6-0 deficit early on to win a dramatic victory in that one, retaining his title in a wild match.

RAF also announced the signing of UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, who’s currently slated to defend his belt against Sean Strickland on May 9 at UFC 328.

Full results from RAF 8 are below:

Main card

Middleweight: Arman Tsarukyan def. Urijah Faber via technical fall (13-1)

Light heavyweight championship: Kyle Snyder def. Rizabek Aitmukhan via points (12-6)

Cruiserweight: Zahid Valencia def. Aeoden Sinclair via points (8-2)

Heavyweight: Shamil Sharipov def. Anthony Cassioppi via pinfall

Women’s bantamweight championship: Helen Maroulis def. Alexis Janiak via technical fall (11-0)

Featherweight: Real Woods def. Anthony Ashnault via points (7-2)

Middleweight: Jason Nolf def. Joey Blaze via points (11-2)

Featherweight: Vladimer Khinchegashvili def. Johnni DiJulius via points (8-5)

Lightweight: Lance Palmer def. Cayden Henschel via points (3-2)

Featherweight: Jordan Oliver def. Michael Vanschenkbrill via points (5-0)

Bantamweight: Lucas Byrd def. Darian Cruz via points (2-2)

Live coverage is over30 updates

Sat, April 18, 2026 at 10:58 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Arman Tsarukyan continued his RAF dominance with a technical fall win over Urijah Faber. And, yet again, Tsarukyan proved that he has a knack for controversy and virality.

Tsarukyan dominated the smaller, older Faber for the entirety of the match, at one point running him all the way off the mat and onto the concrete floor beyond. After securing the technical fall, he called out fellow UFC fighter Colby Covington, who said he’d put his planned match with Chris Weidman on hold in order to take on Tsarukyan at RAF 9 in late May.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 10:53 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

It wouldn’t be an Arman Tsarukyan match without some kind of controversial viral moment. This time it was him running Urijah Faber nearly into the third row.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 10:49 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Not a great start for the former WEC champ Faber. Tsarukyan nearly ended it in the first period, racking up an 8-0 lead. Faber made it to the second, but he’s close to being done here.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 10:40 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Kyle Snyder was down 6-0 at one point, and it wasn’t looking good. But after grinding away at a fading Aitmukhan, Snyder racked up the points in the final frame to win 12-6 while running away with this RAF title match.

Snyder retains the RAF light heavyweight title with the win. By the end, he made it look easy. But it was anything but, especially early on. By the final frame, Aitmukhan seemed like he’d had all he wanted of Snyder, who rolled to victory with a dominant final few minutes.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 10:25 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Big news, as RAF adds another UFC standout to the roster. Khamzat Chimaev has signed with RAF, though there’s no word yet on who he’ll face in his debut or when.

Chimaev has his first UFC title defense slated for UFC 328 on May 9, when he takes on former champ Sean Strickland with the 185-pound belt on the line. Presumably his RAF debut will come well after that, but this is a big addition for RAF
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 10:19 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Valencia was just too much for Sinclair here. The youngster Sinclair did what he could, but Valencia was in total control and could have easily blanked Sinclair on the scoreboard.

After the win, Valencia called for a match with Bo Nickal.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 10:13 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Shamil Shariov made this whole match look easy. He wasn’t trying to be here any longer than he needed to be.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 10:09 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

The Olympic gold medalist Steveson will take on Romanov at RAF 9 in Texas on May 30. Speaking on his well-traveled athletic career, Steveson says he’s done trying things and “it’s time to be great.”

Plenty on the calendar for Steveson, who is expected to make his UFC debut at International Fight Week this July.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 10:03 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Easy work for Sharipov, who had his way with Anthony Cassioppi en route to a pin just a couple minutes in. Cassioppi looked like he might be about to get back in this one with a single-leg takedown, but not only did he fail to finish it, the sequence led to him getting pinned by Sharipov.

The only pinfall so far, and Sharipov made it look easy.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 9:54 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

This was one-way traffic from the start, with RAF women’s bantamweight champion Helen Maroulis dominating Alexis Janiak en route to a 10-0 technical fall. Maroulis did whatever she wanted to do here, then more or less acknowledged that she was stringing it out to try to give ticket-buyers their money’s worth.

The champ stays the champ.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 9:44 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Real Woods picked up the 7-2 win on points against Anthony Ashnault, but not before the blood flowed onto the mat. Woods pulled off a deft move to avoid being pushed out and then seemed to slice Ashnault open just above the eye with only seconds left in the match.

After a delay to put a comically large wrap on Ashnault’s head to cover the cut, Woods added a couple final points to the tally with help from Ashnault’s decision to go for broke with time winding down.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 9:26 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Nolf started fast and kept his foot on the gas for most of this match. Credit to Blaze for making it a match in that middle frame, but Nolf was very clearly in control of this one by the end of the final period.

It also has to be said that Blaze gave away one or two points by stepping out when he didn’t have to. But also you’ve got to appreciate Nolf for adding a little showmanship by starting his entrance while sitting in the crowd. It is WrestleMania weekend, after all.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 9:11 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

DiJulius made this a lot more competitive than people expected. That fella has the dawg in him, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the former Olympic gold medalist.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 9:07 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Khinchegashvili, the former Olympic gold medalist, had more of a scrap on his hands than he might have expected against DiJulius. After jumping out to an early lead, Khinchegashvili had to deal with a late surge from DiJulius.

But Khinchegashvili reasserted control late in the match and picked up his first RAF win on his birthday after losing his debut to Bo Bassett. By far the most active and entertaining match so far tonight.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 8:55 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Palmer was down 2-0 to Cayden Henschel in the third period, but his scrappy style served him well when it mattered most.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 8:52 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

After declaring that he’d quit wrestling if he lost, Palmer picked up three late points to come from behind and beat Henschel 3-2.

Honestly, a gutsy performance all around for Palmer, who’s closing in on 40 and really needed a win. Afterward, Palmer insists that all his worst wrestling matches have come in RAF. He also says he offered to step in and wrestle Merab Dvalishvili after Henry Cejudo pulled out, but RAF opted to scrap that bout instead.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 8:41 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Not a whole lot happened in this match, which means this four-point move from Oliver was essentially the only highlight that mattered. He elevated VanBrill and maybe showed him why he should be glad this part didn’t happen in the parking lot.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 8:35 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

In the only real action of this match, Oliver scooped up VanBrill and walked him out for a slam to pick up four points in one big gesture during the second period.

Tensions got a little high at the very end, with a frustrated VanBrill clubbing Oliver and then chirping into his ear as time ran out. It amounts to nothing in the end, but Oliver says he offered to go outside and settle it that way if needed.

Oliver notes that he’d like to wrestle at 155 pounds next because he likes pizza and “chicken parms.” Same, brother. Same.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 8:27 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Oliver comes in having given up the belt due to a weigh-in miss. The vibe with Vanbrill seems to be that he’s happy to be here and was ready to take on whomever just to get this spot.

First period ends with Oliver sitting on a 1-0 lead after little to no activity in the opening frame.
Sat, April 18, 2026 at 8:21 p.m. EDT
Ben Fowlkes

Cruz squandered an early lead, mostly due to inactivity. Byrd gained one point by pushing Cruz out of bounds and another after Cruz failed to do anything even when he was on the shot clock.

That left the match at 2-2, but with Byrd being the last one to score any points the match goes in his favor. Not exactly a scintillating start but here we are.