RAF 11
| RAF 11: Tsarukyan vs. Covington | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for RAF 11: Tsarukyan vs. Covington | ||||
| Promotion | Real American Freestyle | |||
| Date | July 18, 2026 | |||
| Venue | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena | |||
| City | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |||
| Attendance | 7,000+[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
RAF 11: Tsarukyan vs. Covington was a freestyle wrestling event produced by the Real American Freestyle (RAF) promotion that took place on July 18, 2026, at the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[2]
Background
[edit]The event featured the introduction of the promotion's new RAF Crossover Cruiserweight Championship, a symbolic special attraction title created for athletes crossing over from other sports to compete on the RAF mats. The inaugural bout saw former interim UFC Welterweight Champion Colby Covington face undefeated contender Arman Tsarukyan.[3][4]
Former Bellator Welterweight Champion and former ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren, a two-time NCAA Division I national champion who nearly died from pneumonia in 2025, faced former UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad in the co-main event.[5]
A RAF Women's Strawweight Champion bout between Lucía Yépez and Felicity Taylor took place at the event.[6] On June 23, for undisclosed reasons, inaugural champion, 2024 Summer Olympics gold medalist and seven-time Pan American Wrestling Championships gold medalist Sarah Hildebrandt was stripped off her title and Yépez was promoted to undisputed champion.[7]
RAF Bantamweight Champion Austin DeSanto was scheduled defend his title against Ben Davino.[8] However, for undisclosed reasons, DeSanto withdrew from the match and was replaced by Arsen Harutyunyan.[9]
Results
[edit]| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Cruiserweight |  Colby Covington |
def. |  Arman Tsarukyan |
Decision (5–3) | 3 | 2:00 | [a] |
| Cruiserweight |  Belal Muhammad |
def. | Ben Askren |
Decision (6–3) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Catchweight (159 lb) | Frankie Edgar |
def. | Clay Guida |
Decision (9–1) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Middleweight | Keegan O'Toole |
def. | Christopher Minto |
Decision (14–9) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Women's Cruiserweight | Adeline Gray |
def. | Skylar Grote |
Decision (5–2) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Arsen Harutyunyan |
def. | Ben Davino |
Decision (6–5) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Trent Hidlay |
def. |  Magomedkhan Magomedov |
Technical fall (10–0) | 3 | 0:12 | |
| Cruiserweight | Magomed Ramazanov |
def. | Aeoden Sinclair |
Decision (5–3) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Zac Braunagel |
def. | Pat Downey |
Technical fall (12–2) | 2 | 1:15 | |
| Heavyweight | Anthony Cassioppi |
def. |  Mostafa Elders |
Decision (6–2) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Welterweight | Michael Caliendo |
def. |  Mirzo Khayitov |
Decision (9–2) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Women's Strawweight |  Lucía Yépez (c) |
def. | Felicity Taylor |
Technical fall (10–0) | 2 | 1:10 | [b] |
- ↑ For the inaugural RAF Crossover Cruiserweight Championship.
- ↑ For the RAF Women's Strawweight Championship.
Bonus awards
[edit]The following athletes received bonuses.[11][12]
- Match of the Night: Colby Covington vs. Arman Tsarukyan and Belal Muhammad vs. Ben Askren
- Performance of the Night: Trent Hidlay
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]
References
[edit]- ↑ Dave Kallmann (2026-07-18). "He nearly died a year ago. Ben Askren still got one more chance to wrestle". jsonline.com. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
- ↑ Matthew Wells (2026-07-19). "RAF 11 results: Colby Covington beats Arman Tsarukyan, calls out ex-UFC champs". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-07-25.
- ↑ Jeff Cain (2026-07-18). "RAF 11 results: Colby Covington defeats Arman Tsarukyan to win inaugural title". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved 2026-07-25.
- ↑ Donagh Corby (2026-07-18). "Arman Tsarukyan loses: Colby Covington defeats UFC star at Raf 11 for new belt in Milwaukee". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2026-07-25.
- ↑ Alan Dawson (2026-07-19). "RAF 11 results: Colby Covington stuns Arman Tsarukyan; Ben Askren impresses in emotional farewell after illness". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2026-07-25.
- ↑ RAF Wrestling (2026-07-20). "RAF11 recap - blood, sweat & tears". realamericanfreestyle.com. Retrieved 2026-07-25.
- ↑ rafwrestlingusa (2026-06-23). "Lucia Yepez defends the RAF Strawweight Championship against Felicity Taylor July 18 in Milwaukee at RAF11". instagram.com. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
- ↑ rafwrestlingusa (2026-06-19). "Austin DeSanto will defend the RAF Bantamweight Championship against Ben Davino July 18 at RAF11 in Milwaukee". instagram.com. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
- ↑ hawkeye.source (@HawkeyeSource) (2026-07-11). "According to the RAF website, Austin DeSanto is no longer listed for next weekend's RAF event against Ben Davino. Harutyunyan takes his place". x.com. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
- ↑ Real American Freestyle (2026-07-18). "RAF: Tsarukyan vs. Covington". realamericanfreestyle.com. Retrieved 2026-07-25.
- ↑ Real American Freestyle (2026-07-19). "INSTANT CLASSICS". instagram.com. Retrieved 2026-07-26.
- ↑ Real American Freestyle (2026-07-19). "DOMINANT". instagram.com. Retrieved 2026-07-26.