Real American Freestyle rolled out its first official rankings on Monday, and Colby Covington landed at the top of the men's crossover list, as reported by both sports.yahoo.com and Yahoo Sports. The crossover rankings blend wrestlers with UFC names who have taken up RAF's freestyle format, and Covington's spot at number one comes with company right behind him in the form of Arman Tsarukyan and Khamzat Chimaev.

Covington has built his case inside the promotion itself. He is 5-0 in RAF competition and currently holds the promotion's cruiserweight crossover title, which is the kind of resume that makes the top ranking hard to argue with for now. Arman Tsarukyan is ranked behind Colby Covington in Real American Freestyle's men's crossover list because Colby Covington defeated Arman Tsarukyan to win the inaugural Real American Freestyle (RAF) Cruiserweight Crossover Championship.

Chimaev's name sitting just behind Covington is notable given where he stands elsewhere. Khamzat Chimaev is the former UFC Middleweight Champion. That number comes with a recent dent, though: Chimaev's last fight ended in a split decision loss to Sean Strickland on May 9, 2026. A crossover ranking high enough to sit near Covington despite that result shows how much RAF is valuing his wrestling pedigree separate from his UFC form.

The timing of these rankings has fans buzzing for another reason. A thread on r/MMA is circulating around the idea of Chimaev and Covington being signed to meet at RAF Abu Dhabi, and with both men now anchoring the top of the same crossover list, it is easy to see why that matchup has people talking.

For RAF, putting Covington, Tsarukyan and Chimaev at the head of its first crossover rankings is a statement about who the promotion sees as its biggest draws from the UFC pool. Whether that translates into an actual Chimaev versus Covington booking is still a separate question, but the rankings alone have given fans plenty to argue over.