DraftKings Posts RAF 13 Odds, Making Covington a -900 Favorite Over Muhammad

Q: What hidden geopolitical controversy forced a major US network to halt RAF's international broadcasting plans?

FOX Nation halted RAF’s international broadcast plans because RAF’s planned Moscow event was originally booked at VTB Arena, a venue tied to VTB Bank and BM-Bank, both of which are under U.S. sanctions imposed over Russia’s war in Ukraine. That created a serious legal and reputational problem for a U.S. company. Sanctions experts told ESPN that an American promotion doing business with the arena could amount to a prohibited transaction unless it had a specific U.S. Treasury license. RAF did not publicly say whether it had obtained such approval. After ESPN raised questions, FOX Nation said it would not stream the Moscow event. The issue was not simply that RAF was staging a show in Russia; it was that the venue itself was linked to sanctioned Russian financial entities. That made the broadcast potentially entangled in a sanctions controversy. RAF later moved the event from VTB Arena to Arena Mytishchi, apparently to remove the central sanctions issue. But by then, FOX Nation had already pulled back from carrying the Moscow card, and reporting indicated the event ended up with no U.S. live stream and was effectively limited to Russia-only broadcast access. So the “hidden” controversy was a sanctions risk tied to RAF’s business relationship with a Moscow arena connected to sanctioned Russian state-linked banks.

2 articles · Updated · Sporting News · Sep 18

DraftKings is currently the only major U.S. sportsbook offering odds on RAF 13, with new users able to bet $5 and receive $200 in bonus bets.
Colby Covington opened as a heavy -900 favorite against Belal Muhammad at +600 in the Miami main event for the RAF cruiserweight crossover title.
Other marquee lines are even wider: Khamzat Chimaev is -10000 against Gilbert Burns, Kennedy Blades is -5000 against Diana Avsaragova, and Joe Pyfer is -2100 over Luke Rockhold.
The card also includes title bouts and crossover matchups featuring Jason Nolf, Austin DeSanto and Johnni DiJulius as RAF tries to showcase top wrestlers and MMA names on one event.