Hype Italy delivered a showcase of bare-knuckle boxing and grappling action in Rome on Tuesday – as well as quite a surprise in the main event.
RAF crossover champion and former UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington was originally scheduled to face Dillon Danis in a 10-minute, submission-only wrestling match to cap the card, but the latter withdrew. UFC bantamweight contender Raul Rosas Jr. eventually replaced Danis on just a few days’ notice, then scored a big upset with a rear-naked choke submission of the much larger Covington in just 43 seconds.
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Covington, 38, has found an unlikely second life in his combat sports career since leaving the UFC in May, and he quickly took center stage in the ring on Tuesday. Rosas, however, wasted no time shooting and finding a weak takedown. From there, the 22-year-old quickly climbed onto Covington’s back. Covington got up briefly, but fell back to his knees and got caught in a stunning rear naked choke, forcing him to tap out.
This unexpected victory is part of the hottest series of Rosas’ young career in combat sports. In September, he scored his biggest UFC victory in a fight of the year against Raoni Barcelos, extending his Octagon win streak to six.
After the match, Rosas and Covington each took to the microphone and shouted out Conor McGregor, who made a surprise appearance in the crowd.
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Covington already has another submission-only Hype match scheduled for December 20 in Chile, pairing him with UFC lightweight Ignacio Bahamondes. Before that, he will return to the RAF wrestling mats to face Khamzat Chimaev on November 14 in Abu Dhabi.
Check out Hype Italy’s full results below, along with Uncrown’s live blog.
Full results from Hype Italy:
Grappling match by submission only: 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: Torkin Svanidze defeats. Joilton Lutterbach via TKO (punches) at :53 from R2
Bare-knuckle boxing: Ramzan Baki def. Théo 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 by unanimous decision
Dirty boxing: Said-Khusein Akhyadov def. Richard Haubert by unanimous decision
Bare-Knuckle Boxing: Harun Uzun def. Constantin Vasilachi by unanimous decision (29-27 All)
Hype Italy recap with Uncrown live blog below:
Drake Riggs
Drake Riggs
Drake Riggs
They meet in the middle and Rosas quickly teases the offense and finds a takedown. He gets right on Covington’s back. Savage. Covington gets up, but comes back down, and Rosas submits Covington with a rear naked choke! Wow. 40 seconds.
Drake Riggs
If time runs out, the match is automatically declared a draw.
Drake Riggs
The match will last one round of 10 minutes.
Drake Riggs
It’s time for the main event. Grappling. Former welterweight versus current bantamweight. What a scene.
Drake Riggs
Drake Riggs
Drake Riggs
Morandi blew out his knee or leg muscle almost instantly. That’s it. Heibati is cursed.
Drake Riggs
Apparently, Ali Heibati has been suspended indefinitely from MMA for kicking a ring girl. The state of things.
Drake Riggs
Co-main event time. The last notable match of the day, before we see what happens between Covington and Rosas.
Drake Riggs
Drake Riggs
Drake Riggs
We have a PFL veteran on the show, folks. Seasoned combat sports veteran Joilton Lutterbach is next to enter the ring.
Drake Riggs
Drake Riggs
Saget was so beaten that he raised his hand in victory.
Drake Riggs
Saget is dropped twice, and the second keeps him on the ground! It was an easy job for Baki. It was hard to tell what hurt Saget.
Drake Riggs
Only one more BKB match after the one on the bridge. The hype in Italy is almost over.
Drake Riggs
Drake Riggs
Gn sports
