Arman Tsarukyan and Colby Covington Booked for Historic RAF 11 Title Showdown

Combat sports fans are gearing up for one of the most unique and highly anticipated matchups of the year. UFC lightweight powerhouse Arman Tsarukyan and former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington are officially booked to headline RAF 11. The massive freestyle wrestling showcase takes place this Saturday, July 18, 2026, at the UWM Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The stakes for this cruiserweight wrestling spectacular were dramatically raised when Ariel Helwani announced that the bout will crown Real American Freestyle’s inaugural Crossover Championship belt. This exclusive title was created specifically to honor elite cross-sport athletes transitioning to the freestyle mat.

The Road to Milwaukee

The rivalry ignited at RAF 09 in Dallas, where both competitors secured victories and immediately traded heated callouts.

Tsarukyan’s Streak: Arman sits at a flawless 7-0 in RAF. He has dominated the promotion, most recently securing an 11-0 technical fall victory over Kuat Khamitov at RAF Georgia. Tsarukyan has confidently predicted a 10-0 shutout against Covington. 

Covington’s Commitment: "Chaos" enters the contest with a perfect 3-0 RAF record. To make this elite matchup happen, Covington made the shocking choice to officially retire from the UFC. He revealed that UFC brass blocked active roster members from competing against one another in wrestling. Driven by his lifelong passion for the mat, Covington chose to walk away from MMA to pursue the sport’s ultimate freestyle matchups.

The event will stream live exclusively on FOX Nation at 8 p.m. ET. It features a heavily stacked card, including another blockbuster crossover match between Ben Askren and Belal Muhammad.