Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (21-5) expressed his frustration with Arman Tsarukyan (23-3) following his controversial wrestling match against UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber at RAF 08 this month.
The friction stems from the closing moments of the Tsarukyan-Faber match in Philadelphia, where Tsarukyan secured a technical fall victory under chaotic circumstances. During a scramble, the two fighters went over the edge of the elevated mats. Tsarukyan appeared to force the momentum, resulting in both men falling to the arena floor. Tsarukyan denied that he intentionally forced the 46-year-old Faber off the mats. Dvalishvili has now distanced himself from facing Arman after being offered the fight.
“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. Arman should not have thrown him out like that. Urijah’s a very good man, great fighter, and I have even more respect for him for how he handled the situation afterwards.
“He was cool and respectful to me, he’s a great fighter and my neighbor from Armenia, born in Georgia…but it wasn’t necessary what he did to Urijah. 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’,” Merab said