Colby Covington stole the spotlight at RAF 9 as he competed in a highly competitive freestyle wrestling match against former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. After edging out a 5-4 victory in the co-main event bout, ‘Chaos’ turned his attention to Arman Tsarukyan, delivering an animated callout in front of a packed Texas crowd at the College Park Center in Arlington. As expected, the former UFC interim champion made plenty of noise with his challenge. However, his unexpected mention of Nina Drama caught many by surprise. 

“Arman, you’re a spoiled little brat,” Covington declared. “You’ve been talking the talk. Let’s see if you can walk the walk. Gas up your daddy’s jet, bring that little… Nina Drama, and I’ll see you in Milwaukee on July 18. No more excuses. It’s time to run it.”

Arman Tsarukyan, who defeated Keelon ‘Mugzy’ Jimison via technical fall at the same event, later joined Covington on stage and exchanged words with him.  

“Colby, today you looked so bad,” Tsarukyan said. “Please, when we’re going to wrestle, be ready, because I don’t want easy money. I want it to be legit. I want to wrestle with you.”

Delivering an intense promo, the two MMA stars agreed to meet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With an ok from both, the RAF wasted little time in making the clash official, announcing the matchup on its Instagram page for July 18 at RAF 11.

“THE WAIT IS OVER. Tsarukyan vs Covington, July 18 in Milwaukee,” RAF posted on their Instagram.

After signing with the RAF banner, both Covington and Tsarukyan had been trading shots at each other for quite some time. In fact, the Clovis native, who’s now retired from the UFC, had been single-handedly pushing for the wrestling match for a while. Thanks to his efforts, the wrestling match is now a reality.

Given the heated buildup and drama, fans quickly got excited for the wrestling match between the two UFC stars.

Fans react as Nina drama catches stray during Colby Covington’s Arman Tsarukyan callout

One fan quickly chimed in, writing, “UFC take notes. @danawhite bald a–.” Another user commented, “Good Colby promos are so back.”

Here, the fan referred to Covington’s fiery promo for his freestyle wrestling clash with Tsarukyan, suggesting it outshone much of the promotional work currently being produced by the UFC. For some time, fans have criticized Dana White’s promotion for lacking the hype and storytelling that once served as the foundation of many memorable UFC fights.

Darren Till also touched on that issue during an interview with Ariel Helwani, highlighting what he believes the promotion has been missing in recent years.

With that in mind, many fans praised Covington, who has long been regarded as one of the UFC’s most effective trash-talkers, for bringing that same promotional energy to his RAF matchup. However, some were bewildered to hear the former interim champion take a shot at Nina Drama.

One fan wrote, “Damn, I thought @NinaDrama and @ColbyCovMMA were cool.” Another added, “Nina is about to go on another Twitter rant like she’s tough 🤣.”

To be fair, Nina Drama has previously interviewed Covington on her YouTube channel, where the pair shared several friendly interactions. She has also publicly supported some of Covington’s views, including his stance on NBA and NFL athletes participating in military-themed photo opportunities, which he believed was for clout.

However, with Tsarukyan now being one of the fighters she frequently features in her content, Covington appeared to use that association as part of his callout to build additional intrigue around the matchup. Well, one fan seemed to like appreciate the line of thinking.

A user commented, “Colby really said gas up daddy’s jet and bring Nina Drama 😂. Vs Arman on July 18 in Milwaukee is official chaos. RAF 11 bout loading.”

As excitement around the freestyle wrestling match continues to grow, some fans remain concerned about Tsarukyan’s UFC ambitions. One user wrote, “They are not the same size! And Arman should focus on the UFC since he’s next in line after the White House, but this fight might cost him that if he loses.”

Realistically, a loss to Covington in a freestyle wrestling match may have little impact on Tsarukyan’s UFC title aspirations. After all, Topuria has recently stated that he wants to face the top contender. Still, a defeat in a grappling-focused setting could potentially offer ‘El Matador’ some insight into areas he may look to exploit if they meet inside the Octagon.

The RAF appears set to capitalize on the growing hype surrounding the matchup. And with events like Covington vs Tsarrukyan, the freestyle wrestling promotion could very well give UFC a stark competition in terms of fan engagement.