The wild sequence played out with Tsarukyan already up on the scorecards as he drove for a huge takedown that could have potentially ended the match; instead, Tsarukyan sent himself and Faber off the mats. Miraculously, neither athlete suffered any injuries and the match continued a few moments later.
“I don’t control myself so much so if something happens, it’s not like I was thinking about [throwing him off the stage],” Tsarukyan said at the RAF 8 post-event press conference. “Something that happened from my mind. It comes right away.”
The match resumed and Tsarukyan quickly snatched another takedown and landed a four-point throw that put him up 13-1, giving him the win by technical superiority (a 10-point lead in freestyle wrestling ends the match).
Throwing Faber off the stage, accidental or not, was the latest crazy moment that has happened since Tsarukyan joined the RAF roster. He famously engaged in a heated rivalry with Georgio Poullas ahead of their first match and Tsarukyan ended up throwing him to the ground after scoring the win and then throwing a punch, which erupted incited a huge brawl on stage.
This latest incident wasn’t as personal and no one was injured, but RAF executive Izzy Martinez didn’t enjoy how everything played out.
“I don’t like it. I don’t like that,” Martinez said. “You might as well punch him so he can protect himself. Pushing a guy off the stage is pretty dirty to me and I’m not a big fan of that.
“I didn’t like it on my end, even though it was viral. But I don’t have to like everything. I’ve learned that. It’s a promotional thing and it is what it is.”
For his part, Tsarukyan was happy Faber didn’t get injured during the sequence that ended with both of them on the floor.
That said, the top-ranked UFC lightweight contender understands how these moments draw a lot of attention to his matches, as well as RAF and the entire sport of wrestling.
“Thank god, Urijah didn’t get hurt and we went viral,” Tsarukyan said. “We need that.”
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