Two
Ultimate Fighting Championship-inspired crossover title bouts
are officially headed to Real American Freestyle.

Rivalries involving Colby
Covington, Belal
Muhammad, Merab
Dvalishvili and Henry
Cejudo are set to headline the promotion’s next two events. RAF
recently announced that Dvalishvili will meet Cejudo in the main
event of RAF 12 on Aug. 22 in Cleveland, while Covington will
defend his cruiserweight crossover championship against Muhammad at
RAF 13 on Sept. 19 in Miami.

Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad bring UFC rivalry to Real
American Freestyle RAF 13

Both Dvalishvili vs. Cejudo and Muhammad vs. Covington will be
contested for crossover championships, a division created to allow
active and former UFC fighters to compete on the wrestling
mats.

Covington became the inaugural cruiserweight crossover champion
with a victory over UFC lightweight Arman
Tsarukyan at RAF 11 in July. Muhammad confronted Covington
during the post-event press conference, igniting a brawl that
immediately fueled talk of a showdown between the longtime rivals.
While the matchup was initially targeted for RAF 12, promotion
officials have now pushed it back to the September event.

Dvalishvili and Cejudo will instead headline RAF 12. Their rematch
will crown the inaugural lightweight crossover champion. RAF 12
will also feature a stacked undercard, including Jordan Burroughs
vs. Sean
Brady, Bo Nickal vs.
Max McEnelly and Tyron
Woodley vs. Joaquin
Buckley.

A catchweight matchup between social media personalities Larry
Wheels and Mike Holston, better known as “The Real Tarzann,” has
also been added to the RAF 13 lineup.

Championship bouts include Evan Wick vs. Jason Nolf for the RAF
middleweight title, David Carr vs. Tajmuraz Salkazanov for the
welterweight crown and Kennedy Blades vs. Diana
Avsaragova for the women’s middleweight belt. Elsewhere,
Gable
Steveson faces Anthony Cassioppi, while Vladimer
Khinchegashvili, Jesse Mendez, Johnni DiJulius, Asu
Almabayev, Masanosuke Ono, Ben Davino and Will Lewan are also
scheduled to compete.

FULL RAF12 CARD 🔥

Tickets in bio. Watch on @foxnation
pic.twitter.com/rJa4lPnvZk

— Real American Freestyle (@RAFWrestlingUSA)
July 26, 2026

Jon
Jones remains highly confident in his ability.

In a recent interview, the former
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight and light
heavyweight titleholder weighed in on how he believes a fight
against fellow former two-division king Alex
Pereira and a wrestling match against longtime rival Daniel
Cormier would unfold, backing himself in both scenarios.

Jon Jones explains why he sees grappling as the deciding factor
in a hypothetical fight with Alex Pereira

Jones and Pereira were seemingly on a collision course when the
latter announced his move up to heavyweight for
UFC Freedom 250. However, with Jones' ongoing stalemate with
the UFC regarding his future, a fight against “Poatan†has fallen
through.

Nevertheless, Jones cites size as a key factor at heavyweight,
claiming his former opponents Stipe
Miocic and Ciryl Gane
are bigger than Pereira, who previously competed at 185 pounds.

“I watched Pereira train,†Jones said in an interview with AFL
Global. “I see his level of wrestling and it’s way behind. I feel
as if Stipe Miocic is a true heavyweight. He’s a big, big boy.
Ciryl Gane, when you see him in person, he’s a big, big boy. Alex
Pereira is not a big, big boy. He’s a lean guy. I think right now
he weighs maybe 250.â€

Jones believes his size and grappling would have overwhelmed
Pereira, predicting a submission win had they collided inside the
Octagon.

“I feel as if my physical strength would have been too much for
him,†Jones said. “I felt as if the moment I would have gotten him
to the ground, my submissions would have come pretty quickly. I
mean, everyone knows that. I think that’s the clearest path to
victory for me against Alex Pereira. But we’re not fighting. I am a
fan of him. I support him, and I want to see him do well.â€

“Bones†also discussed his approach towards a potential wrestling
match with Cormier, who he's already shared the cage with
twice.

“I think I would have beat D.C. in a wrestling match,†Jones said.
“It wouldn’t be easy, but I think I would beat him in wrestling. I
hear that he has problems with his back, so my strategy would be to
just try to wear on him. Not shoot, not go for the takedown, but
just hand fight, hand fight, hand fight and see if I could wear on
that back.â€

Arman
Tsarukyan will return to competition this weekend, though not
inside the Octagon.

The top-ranked
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight contender is set to
face Indian fitness influencer Ankit Baiyanpuria in a
submission-only grappling match at a Hype Fighting event in
Armenia, the promotion announced on Instagram.

Arman Tsarukyan faces Ankit Baiyanpuria in a submission-only
grappling match at Hype Fighting in Armenia

Hype Fighting announced a submission-only grappling match between
Tsarukyan and Baiyanpuria for their upcoming event in Yerevan,
Armenia, on Aug. 1.

Tsarukyan has not competed in mixed martial arts since November
last year, when he submitted Dan Hooker.
The victory marked his return following a lengthy hiatus after
earning a decision win over former lightweight champion Charles
Oliveira at UFC
300 in April 2024.

While his next UFC appearance remains unconfirmed, Tsarukyan has
stayed active outside the promotion. The Armenian has competed
eight times under the Real American Freestyle banner, compiling a
7-1 record. His lone defeat came earlier this month, when he lost
on points to Colby
Covington.

Meanwhile, Baiyanpuria has emerged as one of India’s most notable
fitness influencers, building a massive online following through
his workout videos, traditional training methods and disciplined
lifestyle content. However, he has no notable professional
grappling credentials.