Colby Covington pulled off his biggest post-UFC win yet this past weekend, extending his undefeated wrestling streak in RAF with a hard-fought 5-3 victory at RAF 11 in Milwaukee. This wasn’t just another notch on the belt, either. Covington, at 38 years old, headlined the event against top UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan for the RAF’s inaugural cruiserweight crossover championship, putting a brutal end to Tsarukyan’s impressive seven-match unbeaten run with the freestyle wrestling promotion.
“Everybody Was Counting Me Out”
The win clearly meant a ton to Covington. Speaking Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” he didn’t hold back, praising Tsarukyan while highlighting just how much validation this victory brought. “Everybody was counting me out,” Covington told Uncrowned, “The guy [Tsarukyan] hadn’t lost in four or five years.” He even joked, “I think the last time Arman lost was in checkers, when he was playing at his family party.” That’s how dominant Tsarukyan had been. Covington emphasized Tsarukyan’s reputation for scaring Islam Makhachev out of the UFC lightweight division, calling him “the ultimate competitor” and “one of the best in the world.” For Covington, getting this win was about silencing “all the doubters, all the critics who counted me out in this matchup.” He saw it as “a lot of validation,” the culmination of “years, decades, of hard work, overcoming and defying all the odds” against a younger opponent “in his prime” who hadn’t been beaten in years.
Tsarukyan’s Unbelievable Strength Shocks Covington
What makes this win even crazier is that while Tsarukyan competes at 155 pounds in MMA, he impressed Covington the most, even compared to bigger past opponents. Covington had previously beaten former UFC middleweight champions Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold, plus Misfits MMA champ Dillon Danis, all significantly larger men. Yet, Tsarukyan’s power surprised him. “He was unbelievably strong,” Covington admitted. “One of those takedowns, he literally lifted me up from the mat, and I was so surprised. Just freaking picked me up like I was nothing.” Covington described it as an “intense match” that went “down to the final seconds,” with Tsarukyan bringing “the pace and the pressure until the final seconds.” It was “a real joy to compete with someone of his caliber, the best guy in the world in the UFC lightweight division right now.”
The Wild Aftermath and What Comes Next
The drama didn’t end with the final whistle. Directly before Covington’s headliner, former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad secured an RAF win over Ben Askren. This set up a potential crossover championship clash at RAF 12 between Muhammad and Covington. And the venom started flowing fast. At the post-match press conference, Covington and Muhammad traded verbal jabs until Muhammad, completely losing it, stood up, rushed Covington, and hit him with a push kick that ignited a small scuffle on the stage. Their beef, according to Covington, goes back to their days climbing the UFC welterweight ranks, and this incident only poured gasoline on that fire. Covington looks forward to a rematch with Tsarukyan in the future, especially once Tsarukyan isn’t preparing for an upcoming UFC title fight. But first, we might just see Covington and Muhammad face off at RAF 12. You absolutely know that crossover championship fight is going to be pure chaos.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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