Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dillon Danis booked for RAF 14

Arman Tsarukyan will compete in Real American Freestyle (RAF) wrestling less than two weeks after his next UFC bout. The UFC lightweight is scheduled to face Dillon Danis at RAF 14 on October 3 at Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, with the match contested for the RAF middleweight crossover championship.

The announcement comes days after the UFC confirmed Tsarukyan (23–3) will meet Mauricio Ruffy (14–2) at UFC 331 on September 19 in Los Angeles. Tsarukyan has fought sparingly in MMA this year—just once in 2024 and once in 2025, with his last mixed martial arts victory coming against Dan Hooker in November 2024. However, he has remained active in wrestling and submission grappling, competing in 15 such matches over the past two years and losing only once. His sole recent wrestling defeat came against Colby Covington under the RAF banner, though Tsarukyan has otherwise compiled an impressive record in the promotion, beating Lance Palmer, Urijah Faber, Tony Ferguson, and others.

Danis will also have an MMA assignment before facing Tsarukyan. The jiu-jitsu specialist is booked to fight Mike Perry at Duel Arena 1 on August 29 in Orlando, Florida, aiming to extend his record to 4–0. Danis is looking to bounce back after dropping two consecutive RAF bouts—losses to Covington in March and to former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev in June.