RAF has officially booked Belal Muhammad vs. Colby Covington as the co-main event of RAF 12 in Cleveland next month, matching two longtime rivals who never met during their UFC days.
The announcement comes on the heels of RAF 11 in Milwaukee, where Muhammad defeated Ben Askren via points in Askren’s retirement wrestling match. After that win, Muhammad immediately called for a bout with Covington, who had previously defeated Arman Tsarukyan for the inaugural RAF crossover championship.
Tensions spiked at the RAF 11 post-event press conference, where Muhammad and Covington engaged in a heated verbal exchange and attempted to charge at each other before being separated by officials, team members, and security. During the back-and-forth, Muhammad fired, "He went against a lightweight!" and added, "Tell him to go against a welterweight, somebody his size! Cleveland’s right around the corner! Let’s go!"
Covington answered with insults, telling Muhammad, "Bro, you barely beat the dead guy!" and, "This guy can only score on dead guy and gargoyles. That’s it. You’re a bum, bro. Keep talking, you’re a nobody. You got teched by a nobody." Confident about the matchup, Covington declared, "It will be the easiest match I get in RAF," and, "I can’t believe they’re going to give me a free win like that. Super exciting for me. Easy money. No one’s beating me for this belt."
Looking ahead to Cleveland, Muhammad left it with a final line: "Let’s see if he shows up in August,"
