Arman Tsarukyan vs. Colby Covington Headlines RAF 11

Colby Covington, who stepped away from the UFC to pursue a more active wrestling career, is now set for a massive showdown. He will face Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of RAF 11, scheduled for July 18th at the UWM Panther Arena in Milwaukee.

RAF organizers officially announced the bout after both Covington and Tsarukyan secured victories and subsequently challenged each other at the RAF 9 event in Dallas on Saturday.

While never officially confirmed by the UFC, rumors circulated that the organization disapproved of active fighters competing against each other in RAF. However, this potential hurdle was removed when Covington recently announced his retirement, clearing the path for his July clash with Tsarukyan.

Earlier that evening, Tsarukyan improved his RAF record to 5-0 with a technical fall victory over Mugsy. He also has an upcoming match scheduled for RAF 10, where he will grapple with former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson. To date, Tsarukyan has not faced a wrestler with accomplishments even close to Covington's, who finished fifth at the NCAA Championships as an All-American for Oregon State.

Covington secured a victory over former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman on Saturday, winning 5-4 in a hard-fought contest between the two former wrestlers. With this win, Covington now holds a 3-0 record in RAF and will look to continue his momentum when he takes on Tsarukyan in July.