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RAF 11 live blog: Arman Tsarukyan vs. Colby Covington

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2 days ago

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RAF 11 live blog: Arman Tsarukyan vs. Colby Covington

This is the live blog for Arman Tsarukyan vs. Colby Covington, the main event wrestling match for Saturday's RAF 11 card in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

One of the top MMA fighters in the world, Tsarukyan has become the face of RAF in 2026, competing in seven events for the promotion already. Though he doesn't hail from a traditional wrestling background, Tsarukyan has proven himself more than capable on the mats, going a perfect 7-0 in RAF, which has earned him this opportunity for the RAF's inaugural Crossover title, against Covington.

A former Division 1 All-American wrestler and JUCO national champion, Covington leveraged his wrestling chops to a successful MMA career in the UFC, winning an interim title and fighting for the undisputed championship several times. “Chaos†retired from the sport earlier this year so he could focus his energy on RAF, and quickly racked up three wins in the promotion, putting him in this title match.

Check out the live blog for Tsarukyan vs. Covington below.

I can't get over this Ben Askren match but we have Arman and Colby about to hate-wrestle. Colby is walking out first. He looks like he's got a chip on his shoulder. Surely Arman will be too small. But we've seen crazier things. Here comes Arman Tsarukyan. Got the cheese head for the Milwaukee faithful. No boos for Arman despite not being an American. Shows how liked he is.

We're getting the wrestlers announced. Three periods. Crossover belt. You know the drill.

Colby starts out looking for collar ties and gets a headlock. Arman gets on the front head lock and really muscles clubby down. Colby tries to sucker drag Arman out but Arman stays on the head. Ref breaks it out and Arman is on the shot clock. Arman fighting for double under here as well. Colby is in another head lock. Arman unable to score and goes down a point. This might be the first time he's down in RAF? Arman dives on a leg and almost gets a single but Colby goes through for two with some tremendous defense.

Colby ends the period up 3-0.

Colby with a comfortable lead and grabs double unders. Arman is really struggling with the size of Colby. Arman shoots and lifts Colby looking for a Dake bomb but Covington handles well and Arman is back in this, 3-2. Covington shoots on a single and Arman tries to limp leg out. Gator roll from Covington and no score. Fun exchange there. A bad shot for Arman and Colby Covington is able to score again before the period is over. This third round is gonna slap.

Arman looks exhausted in his corner. Period three begins and Covington commands the center again. Arman is really shooting from too far out now in desperation. Colby sprawls and goes to a front headlock to slow down the second layer of Arman's wrestling. Arman fakes a level change and shoot, again, Colby is wise to it. Covington put on the shot clock and didn't score. 5-3. Arman shoots deep on Covington but Colby answers with a catlike sprawl. Arman shoots as soon as the ref blows the whistle to restart. Colby waits and lets the clock expire. Arman's side-quest undefeated streak is over.

Colby Covington defeats Arman Tsarukyan 5-3, wins the RAF Cruiserweight Crossover title.

We've not had any Arman Tsarukyan antics yet. Chael is talking with Covington first, of course. “Arman's going to be lightweight champ, I'm sure of it. It was an honor to compete with Arman tonight.†Really amicable of Covington. “His tie ups, fades, getting to the legs and be able to build up,†Covington continues. “Bring on Chimaev, bring over that cross-eyed dork Belal, bring on Woodley, they can all get it.†Covington wants to defend his title.

No interview from Arman Tsarukyan.

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MMA

Dricus Du Plessis shares unexpected story behind his Colby Covington friendship

Published

33 minutes ago

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July 20, 2026

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Dricus Du Plessis shares unexpected story behind his Colby Covington friendship
While Dricus Du
Plessis and Colby
Covington are on good terms, their friendship didn't start
cordially.

The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champ returned to
winning ways by earning a lopsided unanimous decision win over
Kamaru
Usman (21-5) in the main event at
UFC Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, Covington (17-5) defeated
Arman
Tsarukyan (24-3) in a massive upset in a wrestling match at RAF
11 to be crowned the inaugural crossover cruiserweight champion in
Milwaukee the same day.

“Stillknocks” has now revealed the aftermath of his recent
back-and-forth with Covington.

Dricus Du Plessis and Colby Covington went from trash talk to
friendship after UFC drama

Covington was backing du Plessis to defeat Usman, whom he shared
the cage with twice in welterweight title fights. Usman and
Covington had a heated rivalry when “The Nigerian Nightmare” was
the champion and the bitterness between the two continues to this
day.

Ahead of his bout with Usman, du Plessis revealed that he initially
slammed Covington for recommending non-alcoholic beer to Dustin
Poirier, who recently had a run-in with the law due to public
intoxication. However, the South African believes drinking
non-alcoholic beer is a graver crime than anything Poirier has
done.

Covington then invited du Plessis to share some beers, laying the
foundation for a friendship.

“I was giving him sh*t because he was giving Dustin Poirier sh*t
and telling him to drink alcohol-free beer and that's a bigger
crime than anything Dustin Poirier has ever done,†du Plessis told
Full Send MMA. “I told [Covington] that and then he reached out to
me. He's like, ‘Listen, they have normal beers too, let's get some
normal beers with you.' So, I'm a Colby fan.â€

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MMA

UFC just loaded up Noche 4 with two former champions

Published

2 hours ago

on

July 20, 2026

By

UFC just loaded up Noche 4 with two former champions
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship announced six bouts for its
upcoming
Noche UFC event.

The matchups were revealed during the
UFC Oklahoma City broadcast. The 4th edition of Noche UFC is
scheduled for Sept. 12 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale,
Arizona.

Brandon Moreno and Alexa Grasso headline Noche UFC 4 additions
with championship stakes

Former UFC flyweight champion Brandon
Moreno will look to return to winning ways when he takes on
Joseph
Morales on the card. Moreno is on a two-fight skid and needs a
win to return to title contention.

In another pivotal bout with championship implications, former
women’s flyweight titleholder Alexa
Grasso will take on Manon
Fiorot. Grasso is coming off a dominant showing against
Maycee
Barber, while Fiorot made light work of Jasmine
Jasudavicius in her last Octagon outing.

Also added to the card is a flyweight showdown between UFC veteran
Tim
Elliott and rising contender Edgar
Chairez.

In the heavyweight division, Waldo
Cortes-Acosta will face former interim title challenger
Curtis
Blaydes.

Elsewhere on the card, Kelvin
Gastelum will return against Yousri
Belgaroui and J.J. Aldrich
takes on Regina
Tarin in a flyweight bout.

More fights, including the main event, are expected to be announced
in the coming weeks.

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MMA

Islam Makhachev’s World Cup moment with Argentina fan goes viral

Published

3 hours ago

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July 20, 2026

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Islam Makhachev’s World Cup moment with Argentina fan goes viral
Islam
Makhachev's sense of humor has no mercy.

Makhachev is already in the United States less than a month ahead
of his maiden welterweight title defense. He takes on Ian Garry at
Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Aug. 15. The
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight king attended the
somewhat uneventful FIFA World Cup final between Spain and
Argentina along with his mentor Khabib
Nurmagomedov, manager Ali Abdelaziz and other members of their
team.

The game was dominated by Spain until Barcelona's Ferran Torres
scored the lone goal in extra time. Like most, Makhachev found the
matchup lackluster.

“It was a very bad game, very boring, but it's OK,†Makhachev said
on Abdelaziz's Instagram.

Known for his sense of humor, Makhachev couldn't help trolling an
Argentine fan sitting next to him.

“Hey, second place. You happy?†he said.

The fan, who was clapping enthusiastically, said that he was still
happy despite Argentina's loss. It was enough for the fan that
soccer legend Lionel Messi made it to the final, while fellow GOAT
contender Cristiano Ronaldo didn't.

“Yes, I'm happy. Because Ronaldo is not here. Messi is here,†the
fan replied.

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