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Bo Nickal applauds Colby Covington following RAF 11 win, warns there are 'levels' to freestyle wrestling

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Bo Nickal applauds Colby Covington following RAF 11 win, warns there are 'levels' to freestyle wrestling

Bo Nickal admits Colby Covington put in some solid work in his RAF 11 victory this past Saturday, but he feels a potential match between the two would play out far differently.

Covington looked to continue his momentum in freestyle wrestling against top UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan inside the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. Covington earned a 5-3 win over Tsarukyan to improve his RAF record to 4-0. He has now nabbed victories over Tsarukyan, Chris Weidman, Dillon Danis, and Luke Rockhold.

Nickal saw Covington's match against Tsarukyan, and he won't deny that the former interim UFC Welterweight Champion put in the work to earn his victory. While Nickal had praise for the performance, he still believes Covington would be in for a rude awakening if they share the mat.

“Colby actually looked pretty good vs Arman but there's levels. If yall want to see an absolute massacre give me that @RAFWrestlingUSA cross over belt match up next. Easy work.â€

Nickal and Covington have gotten into a war of words in the past. Nickal has claimed that Covington lied about a proposed UFC Freedom 250 fight that never came to fruition. He even said that he had “receipts†to prove that “Chaos†was lying about him turning down a bout.

Covington has retired from pro MMA competition and has been focusing on freestyle wrestling. It appears the only way the two could settle things is under the RAF banner.

Both Nickal and Covington have their next freestyle wrestling matches booked. Nickal will be facing Max McEnelly at RAF 12 on Aug. 22 in Cleveland. Covington is set to compete on that same card against Belal Muhammad. While Nickal and Covington had their aforementioned banter, things have gotten personal between “Chaos†and Muhammad.

If Bo Nickal and Colby Covington collide under the RAF banner, who would you give the edge to? Sound off in the comments below.

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MMA

Michael Page says UFC big fights have been ‘very difficult’ to get

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32 minutes ago

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July 21, 2026

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Michael Page says UFC big fights have been ‘very difficult’ to get
Michael
Page has been trying to find marquee matchups in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship for a while, without any
luck.

Page (25-3) is scheduled to face Nursulton
Ruziboev (37-9) in a middleweight clash at UFC
Paris on Sept. 5. While Page acknowledges Ruziboev as a worthy
opponent, it's not the matchup “Venom” was eyeing. The Brit claims
he has been trying to find opponents with big names for his past
three outings. However, he has not been able to secure a desired
matchup in a while.

Michael “Venom” Page explains frustration with UFC matchmaking
before UFC Paris fight

The former Bellator
standout has openly expressed his frustration with the UFC's
matchmaking. Page believes he has reached the pinnacle of the sport
and is surprised by his inability to secure high-profile
matchups.

“In all honesty, it’s been frustrating,†Page told Ariel Helwani.
“I feel like it’s crazy that I’ve reached the pinnacle of MMA and
trying to get a name in the Top 10 seems very, very difficult… It’s
excuse after excuse. Then we send another slate of names, and the
same thing happens… Nursulton is a tough opponent. But I was
seeking bigger names, and I have been for the last three fights.
Nobody seems to want to step in there… I’m genuinely asking for
everybody. It just feels crazy that I’m competing in the toughest
combat sport in the world, surrounded by the toughest guys, and
it’s this hard to get those fights.â€

Page is 4-1 in the UFC, with his only loss coming against Ian Garry,
who challenges Islam
Makhachev for the welterweight title next. While he was known
for his highlight reel finishes in Bellator, the Englishman's
performances in the UFC have been lackluster and he's yet to find a
finish inside the Octagon.

Page also revealed that his upcoming clash against Ruziboev is the
last fight on his current UFC contract. While the 39-year-old hopes
to continue fighting in the UFC, he is not confident that the
promotion will be interested in a renewal.

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MMA

Colby Covington explains why RAF 12 matchup with Belal Muhammad is off

Published

3 hours ago

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July 21, 2026

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Colby Covington explains why RAF 12 matchup with Belal Muhammad is off
The RAF 12 matchup between Colby
Covington and Belal
Muhammad is reportedly off just 24 hours after it was made.

Covington became the inaugural RAF crossover champion with a win
over Arman
Tsarukyan at RAF 11. Covington and Muhammad had a heated
exchange at the RAF 11 press conference, following which they were
booked for RAF 12 on Aug. 22, which has now seemingly fallen
through.

Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad's RAF 12 matchup ends after
tense confrontation

Covington now claims he has called off the booking against
Muhammad. The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter says Muhammad's
unprofessionalism fueled his decision to cancel the booking.

Muhammad threw a kick at Covington during the press conference
before security intervened to stop things from escalating further.
“Chaos” is confident that the former UFC champion has no chance
against him on the wrestling mats and will instead try to fight him
and pull off other illegal stunts.

“We're gonna move away from the Belal matchup,†Covington told
Submission Radio. “He showed that he can't be a professional… He
stands up and throws a soccer kick at me and runs across the stage
to try to attack me like a f*cking filthy animal, like a
delinquent, like a criminal. It's just disgusting. There's no
professionalism on his side. Of course, the company knows I beat
him in 60 seconds or less in a wrestling match. We know he's not
gonna be able to wrestle me. He's gonna try to fight me; he's gonna
be unprofessional. So, we're gonna move on.â€

Covington is now open to defending his title in a rematch against
Tsarukyan. He is also interested in exploring other options such as
Michael
Chandler, Tyron
Woodley, Khamzat
Chimaev or Kamaru
Usman.


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MMA

I was devastated: Magomed Ankalaev reflects on first UFC loss in years

Published

5 hours ago

on

July 21, 2026

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'I was devastated': Magomed Ankalaev reflects on first UFC loss in years
Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Magomed
Ankalaev has opened up about dealing with his last defeat.

The Russian is coming off his light heavyweight title loss in a
rematch against Alex
Pereira at
UFC 320 last year, and while the result was difficult to
accept, he's now only looking ahead.

Ankalaev discusses recovering from the Alex Pereira defeat
before facing Bogdan Guskov

While Ankalaev had dominantly dethroned Pereira in their first
outing, “Poatan” avenged the loss by knocking out the Dagestani
205-pounder in just 80 seconds in their rematch. The loss was also
Ankalaev's first since 2018, when he was submitted in his Octagon
debut.

Ankalaev admits that it hasn't been easy recovering from his last
loss, which was frustrating. However, the former champ has cleared
his head ahead of his return at
UFC Abu Dhabi. With fresh motivation to return to the win
column, Ankalaev vows that things will be different in his upcoming
fight.

“It's been a long time; I have wanted to come back,†Ankalaev told
Red Corner MMA. “I had some issues, injuries. It's been hard to
return. Everyone knows that the last fight was a frustrating loss.
It's fair to say I was devastated. But I'm back. Fresh thoughts,
cool head, if you will. Now everything is going to be completely
different.â€

Ankalaev (20-2) was originally scheduled to face Khalil
Rountree on July 25 at UFC Abu Dhabi. However, Rountree pulled
out due to an injury and has been replaced by Bogdan
Guskov on two weeks' notice.

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