Colby Covington vs. Dillon Danis Set for High-Stakes Clash at RAF07 in Tampa

Real American Freestyle (RAF) has announced a significant co-main event for its RAF07 card: a cruiserweight bout featuring Colby Covington and Dillon Danis. This highly anticipated matchup is scheduled for March 28 at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida. As the promotion's seventh major event, RAF07 will be broadcast live on Fox Nation, reinforcing RAF's mission to elevate freestyle wrestling onto prominent broadcast channels.

Colby Covington vs Dillon Danis in RAF Announced

The RAF07 event is set for March 28 at 8 p.m. local time, taking place at the Yuengling Center on the University of South Florida campus. Tickets are presently available for purchase. Real American Freestyle presents itself as an unscripted professional freestyle wrestling league, uniting elite wrestlers with notable crossover athletes from mixed martial arts (MMA) on a shared wrestling mat. RAF07 continues the momentum from recent events held in South Florida, further expanding the league's burgeoning schedule.

Covington arrives in Tampa following a dominant league debut at RAF05. He headlined that event, "Covington vs. Rockhold," in Sunrise, Florida, on January 10, 2026. The former UFC interim welterweight champion showcased relentless pressure, masterful control ties, and intricate chain wrestling, ultimately overwhelming Luke Rockhold. Covington secured a 12–0 technical fall in the second round of their cruiserweight match, instantly cementing his reputation as one of RAF's most impactful crossover talents. This victory improved his RAF record to 1–0 and initiated a compelling narrative fueled by callouts, which now extends to RAF07.

Dillon Danis enters the league as one of the most controversial figures in combat sports, bringing a distinguished grappling pedigree to the cruiserweight division. Hailing from New York, Danis first made a name for himself in elite no-gi jiu-jitsu before transitioning to MMA. During his time with Bellator, he competed as a welterweight, achieving two first-round submission victories in 2018 and 2019.

More recently, Danis ventured into the Misfits MMA circuit, where he claimed the Misfits MMA light heavyweight (175 lbs) title. He secured this championship with a rapid 15-second submission win over Warren Spencer, competing under modified MMA rules, and is still recognized as the division's reigning champion as of late 2025.

From a stylistic perspective, this bout is a classic wrestler-versus-jiu-jitsu confrontation, perfectly suited for a freestyle wrestling framework. Covington's relentless pace, dominant mat control, and powerful top pressure, which were key to his victory over Rockhold, will now face Danis's affinity for dynamic scrambles, effective upper-body ties, and transitions that often lead to exposure positions familiar to grapplers adapting to wrestling.

With RAF07 already featuring renowned freestyle wrestlers and championship contests in various weight classes, the promotion is evidently confident that this co-main event will attract a broad audience of both wrestling enthusiasts and MMA fans to Fox Nation, offering a unique encounter between two prominent figures from distinct combat sports disciplines.