RAF 05

Last updated
RAF 05: Covington vs. Rockhold
RAF 05 poster.jpg
Promotional poster for RAF 05
Promotion Real American Freestyle
DateJanuary 10, 2026
Venue Amerant Bank Arena
City Sunrise, Florida
Event chronology
RAF 04: Hendrickson vs. Parris RAF 05: Covington vs. Rockhold RAF 06: Cejudo vs. Faber

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. [1]

Contents

It was the fifth flagship event produced by the Real American Freestyle (RAF) promotion, and aired live on Fox Nation.

Background

Tickets for the event went on sale through SeatGeek on December 5, 2025. [2]

Commentary for the event's live Fox Nation broadcast was provided by Kurt Angle, Cyrus Fees, Julianna Peña, and Chael Sonnen. [3]

RAF Cruiserweight Champion Kyle Dake defended his title at this event against Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau. [4] Kadzimahamedau had issued a challenge to Dake during the RAF 03 broadcast, leading to the bout. [5] Dake previously lost to Kadzimahamedau in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Summer Olympics. [6]

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. [7] Nickal refused to compete at a Catchweight, so Romero remained on the card and replaced Pat Downey as the opponent of Stephen Buchanan. [7] 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. [8]

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. [7] The vacant title would have been awarded to Woods if he won the match, but since Oliver won it remained held up. [7]

Austin DeSanto, Mostafa Elders, and Jordan Oliver won their matches despite being favored to lose by sportsbooks. [9]

Results

Main card (Fox Nation)
Weight classMethodRoundTimeNotes
Cruiserweight Flag of the United States.svg Colby Covington def. Flag of the United States.svg Luke Rockhold Technical fall (12–0)20:42
Cruiserweight Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Dake (c)def. Flag of Belarus.svg Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau Decision (10–7)32:00 [a]
Catchweight (170 lbs.) Flag of Armenia.svg Arman Tsarukyan def. Flag of the United States.svg Lance Palmer Technical fall (10–0)11:35
Featherweight Flag of the United States.svg Jordan Oliver def. Flag of the United States.svg Real Woods Decision (criteria) (3–3)32:00 [b]
Heavyweight Flag of the United States.svg Stephen Buchanan def. Flag of Cuba.svg Yoel Romero Technical fall (10–0)21:11 [c]
Cruiserweight Flag of the United States.svg Zahid Valencia def. Flag of the United States.svg Nate JacksonDecision (4–0)32:00
Bantamweight Flag of the United States.svg Austin DeSantodef. Flag of the United States.svg Nathan Tomasello (c)Technical fall (11–1)21:04 [d]
Featherweight Flag of the United States.svg Bo Bassett def. Flag of the United States.svg Cayden HenschellTechnical fall (14–4)11:39
Heavyweight Flag of Egypt.svg Mostafa Eldersdef. Flag of the United States.svg Steve Mocco Decision (6–1)32:00
Featherweight Flag of the United States.svg Patricio Lugodef. Flag of the United States.svg Johnni DiJuliusTechnical fall (11–0)21:30
Openweight Flag of the United States.svg Georgio Poullasdef. Flag of the United States.svg Keelon JimisonTechnical fall (11–1)11:37
  1. For the RAF Cruiserweight Championship.
  2. For the vacant RAF Featherweight Championship (only Woods eligible).
  3. Romero replaced Pat Downey.
  4. For the RAF Bantamweight Championship.

[4]

References

  1. Heck, Mike (December 3, 2025). "Colby Covington vs. Luke Rockhold headlines RAF 5". MMA Fighting . Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  2. "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.
  3. Behunin, Alexander (January 5, 2026). "RAF 05 Card, start time, date and location". MSN . Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Riggs, Drake (January 11, 2026). "RAF 5 results: Colby Covington, Arman Tsarukyan dominate; Yoel Romero gets shut out". Yahoo Sports . Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  5. Smith, Earl (November 30, 2025). "Two New Champions Crowned in Surprising RAF 03 Card". InterMat. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  6. Legare, Andrew (August 5, 2021). "Kyle Dake of Lansing now aiming for a bronze after loss at Olympics". Star-Gazette . Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 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.
  8. King, Nolan (December 21, 2025). "Yoel Romero tech falls Pat Downey, gets Bo Nickal rebooking". MMA Junkie . Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  9. "Best Bets: RAF 05 Pre-Event Odds Analysis". NXTbets. January 9, 2026. Retrieved January 11, 2026.