RAF 05
| RAF 05: Covington vs. Rockhold | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster for RAF 05 | ||||
| Promotion | Real American Freestyle | |||
| Date | January 10, 2026 | |||
| Venue | Amerant Bank Arena | |||
| City | Sunrise, Florida | |||
| Attendance | 6,000[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
RAF 05: Covington vs. Rockhold was a freestyle wrestling event that took place on January 10, 2026 at the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida.[2]
It was the fifth flagship event produced by the Real American Freestyle (RAF) promotion, and aired live on Fox Nation.
Background
[edit]Tickets for the event went on sale through SeatGeek on December 5, 2025.[3]
Commentary for the event's live Fox Nation broadcast was provided by Kurt Angle, Cyrus Fees, Julianna Peña, and Chael Sonnen.[4]
RAF Cruiserweight Champion Kyle Dake defended his title at this event against Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau.[5] Kadzimahamedau had issued a challenge to Dake during the RAF 03 broadcast, leading to the bout.[6] Dake previously lost to Kadzimahamedau in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Summer Olympics.[7]
RAF Light Heavyweight Champion Bo Nickal was scheduled to defend his title against interim champion Yoel Romero at this event, but the bout was canceled after Romero missed weight and was stripped of his title.[8] Nickal refused to compete at a Catchweight, so Romero remained on the card and replaced Pat Downey as the opponent of Stephen Buchanan.[8] Romero had won the interim title by defeating Downey at RAF 04, a match made after Nickal withdrew from his scheduled title defense that night against Romero.[9]
Jordan Oliver was scheduled to defend the RAF Featherweight Championship against Real Woods at this event in a rematch of their RAF 03 bout, but Oliver missed weight and was stripped of his title.[8] The vacant title would have been awarded to Woods if he won the match, but since Oliver won it remained held up.[8]
Austin DeSanto, Mostafa Elders, and Jordan Oliver won their matches despite being favored to lose by sportsbooks.[10]
Results
[edit]| Main card (Fox Nation) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Cruiserweight |  Colby Covington
|
def. | Luke Rockhold
|
Technical fall (12–0) | 2 | 0:42 | |
| Cruiserweight | Kyle Dake (c)
|
def. |  Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau
|
Decision (10–7) | 3 | 2:00 | [a] |
| Catchweight (170 lbs.) |  Arman Tsarukyan
|
def. | Lance Palmer
|
Technical fall (10–0) | 1 | 1:35 | |
| Featherweight | Jordan Oliver
|
def. | Real Woods
|
Decision (criteria) (3–3) | 3 | 2:00 | [b] |
| Heavyweight | Stephen Buchanan
|
def. |  Yoel Romero
|
Technical fall (10–0) | 2 | 1:11 | |
| Cruiserweight | Zahid Valencia
|
def. | Nate Jackson
|
Decision (4–0) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Bantamweight | Austin DeSanto
|
def. | Nathan Tomasello (c)
|
Technical fall (11–1) | 2 | 1:04 | [c] |
| Featherweight | Bo Bassett
|
def. | Cayden Henschell
|
Technical fall (14–4) | 1 | 1:39 | |
| Heavyweight |  Mostafa Elders
|
def. | Steve Mocco
|
Decision (6–1) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Featherweight | Patricio Lugo
|
def. | Johnni DiJulius
|
Technical fall (11–0) | 2 | 1:30 | |
| Openweight | Georgio Poullas
|
def. | Keelon Jimison
|
Technical fall (11–1) | 1 | 1:34 | |
- ^ For the RAF Cruiserweight Championship.
- ^ For the vacant RAF Featherweight Championship (only Woods eligible).
- ^ For the RAF Bantamweight Championship.
References
[edit]- ^ "Colby "Chaos" Covington Joins Real American Beer, a Brand Built for the Wrestling Community". Business Wire. February 23, 2026. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
- ^ Heck, Mike (December 3, 2025). "Colby Covington vs. Luke Rockhold headlines RAF 5". MMA Fighting. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
- ^ "Real American Freestyle Kicks Off 2026 with Colby Covington vs. Luke Rockhold at Amerant Bank Arena on Jan. 10". Premier Guide Miami. December 4, 2025. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
- ^ Behunin, Alexander (January 5, 2026). "RAF 05 Card, start time, date and location". MSN. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
- ^ a b Riggs, Drake (January 11, 2026). "RAF 5 results: Colby Covington, Arman Tsarukyan dominate; Yoel Romero gets shut out". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
- ^ Smith, Earl (November 30, 2025). "Two New Champions Crowned in Surprising RAF 03 Card". InterMat. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
- ^ Legare, Andrew (August 5, 2021). "Kyle Dake of Lansing now aiming for a bronze after loss at Olympics". Star-Gazette. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Heck, Mike (January 10, 2026). "Bo Nickal vs. Yoel Romero scrapped from RAF 5 at last minute after weight miss". MMA Fighting. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
- ^ King, Nolan (December 21, 2025). "Yoel Romero tech falls Pat Downey, gets Bo Nickal rebooking". MMA Junkie. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
- ^ "Best Bets: RAF 05 Pre-Event Odds Analysis". NXTbets. January 9, 2026. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
External links
[edit]
- Official website
- "RAF 05" at Apple TV
- "RAF 05" at Fox Nation
- "RAF 05" at Tapology
- "RAF 05" on YouTube