Drake Riggs Uncrowned Updated Tue, November 3, 2026 at 11:11 PM UTC About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hype Italy delivered a Tuesday showcase of bare-knuckle boxing and grappling action in Rome — along with one heck of a surprise in the main event.
RAF crossover champion and former UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington was originally set to take on Dillon Danis in a 10-minute, submission-only grappling match to cap off the card, however the latter withdrew. UFC bantamweight contender Raul Rosas Jr. ultimately replaced Danis on just a few days' notice, and then scored a big upset with a rear-naked choke submission of the much larger Covington in just 43 seconds.
Covington, 38, has found an unlikely second life in his combat sports career since leaving the UFC in May, and he quickly took the center of the ring Tuesday. Rosas, however, wasted little time shooting in and finding a low takedown. From there, the 22-year-old swiftly climbed onto Covington's back. Covington stood briefly, but dropped back to his knees and got caught in a stunning rear-naked choke, forcing him to tap.
The unexpected win continues the hottest run of Rosas' still-young combat sports career. In September, he scored his biggest UFC victory yet in a Fight of the Year contender against Raoni Barcelos , extending his Octagon win streak to six.
After the match, Rosas and Covington each spoke on the mic and shouted out Conor McGregor, who made a surprise appearance in the crowd.
Covington has another Hype submission-only match already scheduled for Dec. 20 in Chile, pairing him against UFC lightweight Ignacio Bahamondes. Before that, he'll return to the RAF wrestling mats to take on Khamzat Chimaev on Nov. 14 in Abu Dhabi.
Check out complete Hype Italy results below, as well as Uncrowned's live blog.
Submission-only grappling match: Raul Rosas Jr. def. Colby Covington via rear-naked choke at 0:43 | Watch finish
Bare-knuckle boxing: Ali Heibati def. Francesco Morandi via TKO (injury) at 1:20 of R1
Dirty boxing: Torkine Svanidze def. Joilton Lutterbach via TKO (punches) at :53 of R2
Bare-knuckle boxing: Ramzan Baki def. Theo Saget via KO at 1:25 of R1 | Watch finish
Bare-knuckle boxing: Boyka vs. Antonio Oprea ends in a majority draw (30-27, 28-28, 28-28)
Bare-knuckle boxing: Waheed Arabsada vs. Joshua Nimako ruled a no-contest
Bare-knuckle boxing: Cody Pepper def. Mattia Mengoni via unanimous decision
Dirty boxing: Said-Khusein Akhyadov def. Richard Haubert via unanimous decision
Bare-knuckle boxing: Harun Uzun def. Constantin Vasilachi via unanimous decision (29-27 All)
They meet in the middle, and Rosas quickly teases offense and finds a takedown. He gets right on Covington's back. Wild. Covington stands, but goes back down, and Rosas submits Covington with a rear-naked choke! Wow. 40 seconds.
If time expires, the match is automatically ruled a draw.
Time for the main event. Grappling. Former welterweight vs. current bantamweight. What a scene.
Morandi blew out his knee or a muscle in his leg almost instantly. That's that. Heibati is cursed.
Apparently, Ali Heibati was suspended indefinitely from MMA for kicking a ring girl. The state of affairs.
Co-main event time. The final striking match of the day, before we see what unfolds between Covington and Rosas.
We have a PFL veteran on the show, folks. Seasoned combat sports veteran Joilton Lutterbach is next to enter the ring.
Saget got battered so badly that he's raising his hand in victory.
Saget gets dropped twice, and the second keeps him down! That was easy work for Baki. It was hard to tell what even hurt Saget.
Only one more BKB match after the one on deck. Hype Italy is nearly over.
Source: Sports
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