Arman Tsarukyan kicked off a busy stretch on Friday night with a first-round Tech Fall victory over Mugzy in Arlington, Texas.
The UFC lightweight contender has been named as the official backup fighter for the UFC White House by Dana White.
However, there is a clash of schedules as the Armenian is due to face Tony Ferguson at RAF10 the night before.
Tony Ferguson will need to step in if that's the case, and Tsarukyan will be heading back home. He expects to return to action in September, but has been remaining active with matches like tonight's and other grappling contests.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Arman Tsarukyan made an early appearance at RAF 09, wearing a cowboy hat and going by the new nickname 'Batman'.
Despite his growing profile, the timing felt unusual for someone of his status. Early on, Mugzy gave him a bit of a scare, managing to take him down in the opening minute and close the gap to 6-5.
But it didn't take long for Tsarukyan to take control. Within two minutes, he got to the legs and secured a Tech Fall win with a final score of 16-5. Speaking with Chael Sonnen after the match, he called out Colby Covington.
"I knew I was going to win, I just have got to give a little bit to these guys," Tsarukyan said. "Shout out to Mugzy, thanks to this guy for coming and sharing the [stage] with me."
"Tonight we've got Colby Covington, I hope he's going to win, and then I can whoop him because the number one MMA wrestler is me."
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