Raul Rosas Jr. replaces Dillon Danis to face Colby Covington
Danis pulled out two days before the event in Rome, and the No. 10 UFC bantamweight took the match at the press conference
Raul Rosas Jr., ranked No. 10 at bantamweight in the UFC, faces Colby Covington on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Pala Pellicone in Rome in a submission-only match. He accepted the bout on Sunday at the Hype FC press conference after Dillon Danis withdrew two days before the event.
Dillon Danis pulls out in Rome
Danis was the announced headliner for Hype FC, a show with bare-knuckle boxing on the rest of the card. His exit was announced at the press conference by the company’s CEO, Armand Martirosian.
“Unfortunately, Dillon Danis could not come,” an event organizer said, according to MMA Mania. No reason for the withdrawal has been given.
Rosas was in the room. When the organizers opened the spot to anyone who wanted to face Covington, he stepped forward and took the match on the spot.
According to MMA Mania, it was Danis’ third withdrawal in less than a year. In August he left an MMA fight with Mike Perry, citing an arm injury. Before that, a boxing match with Anthony Taylor fell through because he was not medically cleared.
Danis was coming off a loss to Arman Tsarukyan at RAF 14 in October. It was his third loss in three bouts in the wrestling league, and the first one came against Covington in March.
The size gap between Rosas and Covington
Rosas competes at bantamweight, with a 135-pound limit. Covington built his career at welterweight, with a 170-pound limit, and held the interim title. That is a 35-pound gap between the divisions, and reports on the change do not mention an agreed weight for the match.
At 13-1 in MMA, Rosas has won six straight. The latest was a fifth-round TKO of Raoni Barcelos in the UFC Vegas 121 main event in September.
Covington has not fought in MMA since December 2024, when he lost to Joaquin Buckley, who was later knocked out by Mike Malott at UFC Edmonton. In RAF, the wrestling league, he has beaten both Danis and Tsarukyan.
Why the rules reward finishers
In Rome, the only way to win is a joint lock or a choke. Takedowns and control, which score points in RAF, will not decide the match on their own.
Rosas has six submission wins in MMA: three rear-naked chokes, two armbars and one face crank. The most recent came in June 2024 against Ricky Turcios, a rear-naked choke in the second round.
By losing Danis, the event lost the headliner with the biggest Jiu-Jitsu résumé. He earned his black belt from Marcelo Garcia in 2015 and won the IBJJF No-Gi Pan Championship in 2016.
The 2024 UFC block and a busy November
Rosas has tried a match like this under his UFC contract before. In October 2024 he was announced for the ADXC 6 main event in Abu Dhabi against Muhammad Mokaev, then dropped out. Mokaev wrote on social media that the UFC did not let him compete, and the promotion never explained the case publicly.
Reports on the Rome match do not say how the UFC handled it this time.
Both men stay busy this month. Covington faces Khamzat Chimaev at RAF Abu Dhabi on Nov. 14, and Rosas meets Clay Guida at RAF 15 on Nov. 28.
Conor McGregor, a teammate of Danis, wrote on Instagram that he is in Rome this week, and Bloody Elbow lists him as a special guest at Hype FC.
Given the size gap, do you think Rosas can submit Covington in Rome? Tell us in the comments.
Read more:
- Arman Tsarukyan shuts out Dillon Danis, calls out GSP
- Neiman Gracie faces Tsarukyan at RAF Abu Dhabi
- Mike Malott KOs Joaquin Buckley with a knee at UFC Edmonton
