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
Hernandez earned his
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract with a submission win
on
Dana White's Contender Series earlier this month. He then made
a 10-day turnaround, stepping up on two days' notice for his UFC
debut against Sedriques
Dumas at
UFC Vegas 121.
“The Stache†earned a $100,000 performance bonus for forcing Dumas
to tap to a guillotine choke in under a minute. The Miami-Dade
Sheriff's Office deputy is looking to stay active in two divisions
and wants to become a household name.
Luis Hernandez wants to fight at middleweight and welterweight
after his unbeaten UFC start
Hernandez's short-notice UFC debut came at light heavyweight.
However, he wants to primarily compete at middleweight while
occasionally dropping to welterweight. The 30-year-old wants to
stay active and become a household name before turning his
attention to championship aspirations.
“I'm a company man,†Hernandez said on the “Deep Waters†podcast.
“I'm gonna make the fights happen. Any weight class you call me,
I’m about that money… I want to pull a Kevin
Holland and do both 170 and 185. I do want to go up the
rankings, but I want to become first a household name.â€
Hernandez holds a 9-0 record, with all nine of his victories coming
by stoppage.
Luis
Hernandez wants to fight at both middleweight and welterweight
to build up his name in the UFC
“Any weight class you call me, I’m about that money… I want to
pull a Kevin
Holland and do both 170 and 185. I do want to go up the
rankings, but I first want to become a… pic.twitter.com/qbttTIp0KS
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
September 28, 2026
Raoni Barcelos released a video from his hospital bed almost 48 hours after his scary defeat to Raul Rosas Jr. to confirm he's “doing well†and already anticipates a “stronger†return.
Barcelos had his five-fight winning streak snapped in the main event of UFC Vegas 121, which went down this past Saturday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, after collapsing unconscious in the fifth round in his bantamweight clash. The 39-year-old veteran shared a short statement Monday morning to say he was “doing great,†and thank fans on a video post hours later.
“Hey everyone, how's it going?†Barcelos said in Portuguese. “I'm here to send you a message and let you know that I'm doing well. I'm doing really well and undergoing all the exams here at the hospital. This is just the hospital's protocol, so I have to go through all of them. That's it, guys. I want to thank everyone for all the prayers and all the kind messages. Please keep sending that positive energy.â€
Barcelos was ahead in the scorecards and likely three minutes away from a decision win — had they gone the distance — before passing out in the clinch and needing immediate medical assistance, getting transported to a local hospital. Rosas Jr. was declared the winner by technical knockout.
“We move forward, on to the next one,†Barcelos said. “I gave everything I had inside that cage. Like I said before, I was only leaving that cage if I was carried out, and that's exactly how it happened. It wasn't the way I wanted it to be. I wanted to become champion and leave with the victory, but God knows everything. So we move on to the next one.
“I'm here, doing well. I'll be back, and I'll come back stronger. And I want to send all of you a kiss and a big hug. Thank you so much for everything. Thank you, and let's keep moving forward!â€
Mike Perry speaks out after suffering injury during upset loss to Brandon Jenkins: “Health is wealthâ€
Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
A top UFC analyst believes Raoni Barcelos should leave Mixed Martial Arts after a scary scene in the Octagon at UFC Vegas 121.
UFC bantamweight veteran Raoni Barcelos was on the wrong end of one of the best fights of the year last Saturday at UFC Vegas 121.
Barcelos and Raul Rosas Jr. headlined UFC Vegas 121 at the Apex in a pivotal bantamweight matchup. The two stars treated fans to a fire fight for as long as the bout lasted, before Rosas finished Barcelos with a slam in Round 5.
Barcelos was quickly rushed to a local hospital after losing consciousness inside the Octagon at UFC Vegas 121. But luckily, Barcelos is alert, has regained use of his extremities, and is expected to make a full recovery from his health issues.
One of the men on the call at UFC Vegas 121 wants to see Barcelos hang up the gloves following a frightening scene at the Apex.
Paul Felder: Raoni Barcelos should retire after ‘body gave out'
In a recent episode of the Believe You Me podcast, UFC Vegas 121 color commentator Paul Felder pushed Barcelos to hang 'em up after the horrific loss.
“They should give Raoni, like, another five (hundred thousand) on top of (the Fight of the Night bonus) for whatever, because that might be it for him. I think, no matter what, I'd love to see him retire. Hey, your body gave out on you to some degree. Unless it comes back that it was just some fluke thing, but to get rushed to the trauma center, and you're 39?†Felder said of Barcelos.
“There's still just so many questions out there on what really went down, and if they even know. That's the scarier part: what if they can't even pinpoint what exactly caused that? You've got to be done with combat sports,†Felder continued on Barcelos. “And if so, what a career this guy's had. At 39, what a resurgence he's had. Thoughts and prayers to his family. I really hope he's OK. It was really sad to see.†(h/t Heavy)
Before UFC Vegas 121, the 39-year-old Barcelos earned five consecutive wins, including victories over Cody Garbrandt and Payton Talbott.
Should Raoni Barcelos fight again after losing to Raul Rosas Jr.? Share your thoughts in the comments!