Colby Covington walked out of the UWM Panther Arena in Milwaukee with gold around his waist, defeating Arman Tsarukyan in the RAF 11 main event to claim the RAF cruiserweight crossover championship.
Covington earned a 5-3 victory over Tsarukyan in their featured bout, handing the UFC lightweight contender his first loss under the RAF banner and shifting Tsarukyan’s promotional record to 7-1. With the win, the former interim UFC welterweight champion improved to 3-0 in RAF and remained undefeated in the promotion.
"It feels good, man. Arman's gonna be lightweight champ, I'm for sure of it, and I can't wait to witness it," Covington said after the match. He added, "It was an honor to compete against Arman tonight. ... (I was) super impressed. His tie-ups, his feints, getting to the legs, able to build up – he's a strong dude. That was a tough guy I took down to win this belt. It's an honor to be the first crossover championship in RAF history."
Covington then turned his attention to what comes next. "Bring 'em all," he said, before calling for several names. "I got a list of guys I want. Bring on Chimaev, bring on that cross-eyed f*cking dork, f*cking Belal! Bring on Woodley, they can all get it, bro! I'm defending this crossover championship for America!"
