Urijah Faber vs Arman Tsarukyan: King of Control vs King of Scrambles

Urijah Faber has spent over 20 years being one of the most exciting, high-energy competitors in combat sports. No matter the discipline, the opponent or the location, “The California Kid” was showing up ready to do more than just compete but to also put on a show.

Faber’s elite conditioning, quickness and scramble abilities have made him one of the most tricky grappling puzzles in the game. To some, his best scrambles were in the WEC or UFC cage but the diehards remember Faber cutting his teeth on the wrestling mat.

In his time at UC-Davis, Faber would set the school record for wins and qualify for the National tournament twice. His style has always leaned toward pressure, constant movement and a willingness to make every exchange uncomfortable. Faber has competed in wrestling, kickboxing, MMA and submission grappling and never once been an easy night out, even when on paper, he should have been.

Arman Tsarukyan is back with a fast turnaround after his high-profile main event matchup with Georgio Poullas. At RAF07, Tsarukyan didn’t just prove he can be the star of the show, he also showed that no D1 wrestler is totally safe from him regardless of accolades.

Now 3-0 under the RAF banner, Tsarukyan is one of the most active and successful athletes on-roster and has already taken down a D1 runner-up.

Known for his dominance in MMA, Tsarukyan has proven that his grappling dominance isn’t dependant upon a cage, on the open mat, he’s a legitimate threat to anybody.

Faber’s keys to victory are about matching Tsarukyan everywhere. Center the match around bending the match into very specific moments where Faber still has real advantages. One such is advantage is his speed. Tsarukyan may have youth and strength on his size but Faber can chip away at the strength discrepancy by wearing him down with speed.

Faber has a cat-like ability to never stay down long and he’ll need that when he takes on one of the most persistent back riders he’s faced yet. If he can utilize this ability he can take away one of Tsarukyan’s biggest strengths.

For Tsarukyan, if he can negate Faber’s speed by cutting off the mat and forcing engagement or pushout points he can score early and often.

Another way is to force Faber into chain-wrestling exchanges. Tsarukyan’s smothering style makes chain wrestling and re-attacks feel more like fighting for survival than creating scoring chances for opponents. In the short, RAF rounds, matches are more of sprints than marathons. If an opponent like Tsarukyan has your back, you may be quickly surrendering the ability to score until the next round.

Can Urijah Faber capitalize on his speed advantage and his D1 experience or will Tsarukyan continue his unbeaten streak? Find out Saturday, April 18 at RAF08 ONLY on FOX Nation!