Real American Freestyle’s next event is set and stacked with star power. On Saturday, July 18 in Milwaukee, RAF 11 emanates from UW – Milwaukee Panther Arena and the show will be headlined by Colby Covington and Arman Tsarukyan.
The co-main event is special as it features the return of American wrestling great and combat sports legend, Ben Askren. Let’s talk RAF.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Event: RAF 11: Tsarukyan vs. Covington
- Date: Saturday, July 18, 2026
- Location: UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Start time: 8 p.m. ET
- How to watch: FOX Nation (exclusive stream)
- Main event: Arman Tsarukyan vs. Colby Covington for the inaugural RAF Crossover Championship
- Co-main: Ben Askren vs. Belal Muhammad, Askren’s return on his 42nd birthday
When And Where Is RAF 11?
RAF 11 runs Saturday, July 18, 2026, from UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee. The main card starts at 8 p.m. ET.
The promotion is riding real momentum into the date. Its first international card, RAF Georgia, ran a week earlier in Tbilisi, and Milwaukee is the follow-up on home soil.
How Can You Watch RAF 11?
RAF 11 streams exclusively on FOX Nation, which is the official broadcast home for the promotion’s flagship events. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.
There is no traditional pay-per-view or cable window for the main card. FOX Nation is the one place to find it live.
Who Is On The RAF 11 Card?
The full RAF 11 lineup blends freestyle wrestling standouts with a heavy dose of MMA names. Here is the main slate:
- Arman Tsarukyan vs. Colby Covington, inaugural RAF Crossover Championship
- Ben Askren vs. Belal Muhammad
- Lucia Yepez vs. Felicity Taylor, championship
- Ben Davino vs. Arsen Harutyunyan, championship
- Frankie Edgar vs. Clay Guida
- Trent Hidlay vs. Magomedkhan Magomedov
- Skylar Grote vs. Adeline Gray
- Keegan O’Toole vs. Christopher Minto
- Anthony Cassioppi vs. Mostafa Elders
That Edgar-Guida bout puts two former UFC lightweights on the same mat, part of a pipeline of Octagon names RAF has been pulling in since Khamzat Chimaev competed outside the UFC earlier this year.
I spoke to Guida about his participation with RAF. He’s wanted this match with Edgar for a while.
What’s At Stake In Tsarukyan vs. Covington?
The main event carries the first RAF Crossover Championship, a new belt built for combat sports athletes crossing onto the wrestling mat. Tsarukyan enters a perfect 6-0 in RAF. Covington is 3-0 since leaving the UFC earlier this year.
Covington told me in a recent interview that the bad blood with Tsarukyan is not a promotional angle.
“It’s all real. There’s no fakeness about it,” he said, before calling Tsarukyan a “spoiled, entitled little brat” and pointing to the incident where Tsarukyan threw Urijah Faber off the mat. He framed the match as six minutes “to make my life fair.”
Interestingly, Askren, who competes on the same card, has publicly picked Tsarukyan by a single point.
What Does Ben Askren’s Return Mean?
Askren’s co-main is the story of the night for a lot of fans. A year ago he was in a hospital bed after a double lung transplant, unable to stand on his own. Now he wrestles Belal Muhammad, a recent UFC welterweight champion, on his 42nd birthday.
He picked a live opponent on purpose. Askren told me he has no interest in a soft return, and he was honest about where his body is after everything. “Most people thought I’d never be here at all,” he said, adding that he is “not what I was” but has “made a lot of progress.”
Win or lose, a competitive wrestling match on the anniversary of the fight that nearly killed him is the kind of moment that outlives the result.
