When Henry Cejudo pulled out of RAF 08 hours before the event on April 18, the promotion needed a quick fix for a card that had lost its headline bout. Merab Dvalishvili had the offer on the table to step in, but he refused to fight against Arman Tsarukyan.
And after watching the show, he made clear it was the right call for more than one reason. The former UFC bantamweight champion didn’t mince words while putting his blunt objection on the size disparity.
But Tsarukyan’s aggressive treatment of Urijah Faber during the event caught him off guard because Dvalishvili expected “Ahalkalakets” to show the 46-year-old minimum respect.
Merab Dvalishvili Calls Out Arman Tsarukyan’s Treatment of Urijah Faber
Dvalishvili, 34, is generally the more expected and highly ranked athlete between the two across official pound-for-pound standings, though Tsarukyan is currently viewed as the more active and dominant force on the regional wrestling circuit.
And they have a visible size difference. Dvalishvili fights at bantamweight (135 lbs) with a 21-5 record. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan is the UFC’s No. 2 lightweight, where 155 lbs is the base weight.
Even though Dvalishvili has more experience, that 20-pound gap is hard to ignore in freestyle wrestling, where no one is cutting weight. So having on the heavier side, Tsarukyan had the advantage in the bout.
“They did offer me Arman Tsarukyan, but that matchup didn’t make sense,” Dvalishvili said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “He’s two weight classes bigger than me. Then I saw what Arman did against the legend Urijah Faber, and I was disappointed. Arman should not have thrown him out like that.”
Merab Dvalishvili explains why he has no interest in wrestling Arman Tsarukyan:
“They did offer me Arman Tsarukyan, but that matchup didn’t make sense… He’s 2 weight classes bigger than me. Then I saw what Arman did against the legend Urijah Faber, and I was disappointed.… pic.twitter.com/9kIfNj9jJ9
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 29, 2026
The issue became personal because of how Tsarukyan handled himself in the main event. He defeated UFC Hall of Famer by technical fall with a score of 13–1 at RAF 08 but the victory left no significance for Dvalishvili after Tsarukyan drove Faber off the elevated mat and onto the concrete floor. Fortunately, no one got injured.
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On social media, that zero-respect move drew significant criticism. Dvalishvili, who has trained with Faber and views him as a mentor, is absolutely disappointed with this lack of respect and noted it as a big reason why he lost interest in facing Tsarukyan.
The 29-year-old has built a consistent presence on the RAF circuit, going 5-0 since January. However, his behavior has always drawn scrutiny. His close friend and training partner, Khamzat Chimaev, took shots at him following the victory.
Just to recap, Dana White noted that a post-fight altercation following his win over Dan Hooker at UFC 321 was a major reason the promotion passed him over for an interim title shot.
Dvalishvili last fought in December, where he suffered a decision loss to Petr Yan at UFC 323 and lost his bantamweight belt. He is now scheduled to wrestle UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar at RAF 09 on May 30, in Arlington, Texas. A trilogy fight with Yan is still the expected next step in the UFC, with Yan confirming a rematch for the summer of 2026.
