Arman Tsarukyan is not really one to sit idle and grovel, considering his father is rich enough to put together an entire new UFC if he wants. Ever since Dana White snubbed him for the interim title shot, many have been worried about the Armenian’s activity. However, we need not fear. He is, it appears, 100% focused on expanding his résumé beyond the UFC Octagon. Just last week, Tsarukyan added another title to his collection at the ACBJJ grappling event, where he submitted his opponent at the last minute.

Very soon, Arman Tsarukyan is set to face UFC middleweight star Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov in a high-profile grappling match on December 30 in Armenia as part of the new Hype Fighting League (Hype FC) event. If that wasn’t enough, he is now set to fight in a freestyle wrestling bout at Real American Freestyle’s fifth flagship event in January.

Important details about Arman Tsarukyan’s wrestling bout at RAF 5

“🤼 Arman Tsarukyan will have his THIRD bout within one month! This time, in freestyle wrestling, against Lance Palmer at Real American Freestyle on January 10 in Miami, Florida,” wrote Red Corner MMA on X. The event held at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, will air exclusively on Fox Nation.

His opponent is no fluke either. The 38-year-old is a two-time PFL tournament winner at 145 lbs as well as a former WSOF featherweight champion. And if you think his wrestling may not stand against someone like Arman Tsarukyan, think again. Lance Palmer is a four-time NCAA Division-I All-American in wrestling from his years competing at Ohio State University and has already competed at RAF’s inaugural event in August.

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The fight card promises even more action than this one. UFC middleweight star Colby Covington will headline the event against former champion Luke Rockhold at cruiserweight. In addition, the card features the RAF light heavyweight champion Bo Nickal facing interim champion Yoel Romero in a title unification bout, billed as a young vs. veteran war. Romero, 48, captured the interim title just last Friday by defeating Patrick Downey, which puts him firmly in the spotlight.

Still, all eyes remain on Arman Tsarukyan. While he dominates in wrestling and grappling, his MMA path faces turbulence. UFC CEO Dana White grew frustrated after ‘Ahalkalakets‘ pulled out of the headliner title bout at UFC 311 just a couple of days before the fight. As a result, White put Tsarukyan’s title shot on hold and urged him to get back on track to secure another opportunity.

Did UFC officials halt Carlos Partes’ grappling match with Tsarukyan?

Over the year, tensions ran high between the promotion and Arman Tsarukyan, as the UFC repeatedly denied him a title shot. Despite this, ‘Ahalkalakets worked hard to redeem past mistakes and get back into Dana White’s good books. In fact, he even made weight as the backup fighter for the title bout between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 and then returned to deliver a dominant performance against Dan Hooker at UFC Qatar last month.

However, the promotion announced the interim title fight between Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje, once again sidelining Arman Tsarukyan. As a result, he focused on wrestling while his dream of becoming a UFC champion remained on hold. More recently, the UFC also tried to interfere with Tsarukyan’s grappling match on December 30 by approaching UFC welterweight star Carlos Prates to take the fight.

“They asked me to fight Tsarukyan on December 30. They asked me to fight him, and I accepted, but UFC said no. They didn’t let me fight. Yeah, I was really excited at the moment, you know, grappling, and I think it was in Armenia or someplace like that, December 30. Yeah, and I said yes, but UFC said they didn’t let me fight. But it’s okay, you know,” said Carlos Prates on the Vechter Bazen YouTube channel.

That said, it’s unclear whether the UFC deliberately blocked Arman Tsarukyan’s wrestling plans. The Russian-Armenian will now face middleweight star Shara “Bullet” Magomedov. At the same time, one explanation could be that Tsarukyan and Prates compete just one weight class apart, so they could still fight in the future.

So, what do you think about the UFC stepping in to stop Carlos Prates from facing Arman Tsarukyan? Share your thoughts in the comments below.