Ben Askren sees Arman Tsarukyan vs. Colby Covington as about as close as it gets.
After Tsarukyan and Covington were booked for the RAF 11 main event, Askren was asked by Ariel Helwani how he sees the wrestling matchup. Askren, who is also set to wrestle Belal Muhammad at RAF 11, said he did not make that bout himself, but the weight difference immediately caught his attention.
“That’s interesting, you know,” Askren said. “I don’t make all the matches. I didn’t, I did not make that match. I was interested because Arman is going up in weight. I think they’re wrestling at, I believe it’s 185, whereas Colby’s wrestled a bunch of his matches at 200 pounds.”
Askren then pointed to the obvious size gap. Tsarukyan competes in the UFC lightweight division, while Covington spent his UFC run at welterweight and held the interim welterweight title. Even with both men wrestling above their normal MMA weight classes, Askren believes Covington has the bigger frame.
“That’s obviously inflated from their fighting weights,” Askren said. “Their fighting weights are 55 and 70. Colby’s clearly the larger person. I don’t know. I’m very split on it. I think it’s kind of a coin flip.”
Here’s the source clip:
Ben Askren breaks down Arman Tsarukyan x Colby Covington:
"Colby's clearly the larger person. I don't know. I'm very split on it. I think it's kind of a coin flip.
Colby x Weidman was a fun one. Arman did have some close matches against Georgio Poullas, who was a college… pic.twitter.com/H0UcndnwLC
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 1, 2026
Askren Leans Tsarukyan In A Close Match
Askren also compared the matchup to Covington’s recent RAF meeting with Chris Weidman. Covington edged Weidman 5-4 at RAF 9, while Tsarukyan has already been active on the RAF side, including his 16-5 tech fall win over Mugzy before calling for Covington.
“Colby x Weidman was a fun one,” Askren said. “I thought that would be really competitive, and it was. Arman did have some close matches against Georgio Poullas, who was a college wrestler. He was an alright college wrestler, I guess we’ll say.”
Askren did not turn the pick into a hard lock. He gave Covington credit for size and recent RAF experience, but still leaned toward Tsarukyan by the thinnest possible margin.
“So I don’t, yeah, I don’t really know what to expect,” Askren said. “I think it’s going to be competitive. I think it’ll be close. I’ll go Arman by a point.”
RAF 11 is scheduled for July 18 in Milwaukee, with Tsarukyan vs. Covington headlining the card. Askren expects a competitive match, with one scramble or one point potentially deciding it.
