UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev may have accidentally revealed his next Real American Freestyle (RAF) assignment before the promotion was ready to make it official.
Chimaev returns to the wrestling mats against the former UFC lightweight title challenger Gilbert Burns at RAF 13 tomorrow night (Friday, September 18, 2026) at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida. Apparently, however, “Borz” already knows who – and where – he will wrestle next.
At the RAF 13 press conference, Chimayev was asked who he would like to wrestle next under the RAF flag. He immediately pointed to a longtime rival Colby Covingtonwho left the UFC earlier this year to focus on his wrestling career — and seemingly revealed his upcoming game in the process.
“Colby’s not in the UFC right now, so I think we’ll wrestle in Abu Dhabi,” Chimaev said before smiling and awkwardly looking around the room. “Oh, I may have announced this too soon. Sorry guys.”
Well, the cat is out of the bag now.
Neither the RAF nor Covington have officially announced the bout, and no date has been announced for the promotion’s apparent debut in Abu Dhabi. Still, Chimaev’s amused reaction certainly made it seem like the highly-anticipated matchup is already being worked on behind the scenes — if not completely finished.
Chimaev and Covington were involved in MMA fighting for many years while both competed in the UFC lightweight division, but the meeting never materialized. Chimaev eventually moved permanently to middleweight, where he captured the championship, while Covington retired from mixed martial arts after going almost two years without competing.
The race followed both men to the RAF.
Covington has gone undefeated since moving to the RAF and captured the promotion’s first Cruiserweight Crossover Championship by defeating the UFC lightweight contender. Arman Tsarukyan in July (watch the highlights). Before a potential meeting with Chimaev in Abu Dhabi, Covington defends his title against a longtime rival Belal Muhammad in tomorrow night’s RAF 13 Main Event.
Assuming both fighters make it through RAF 13 unscathed, it sounds like Chimaev vs. Covington finally happens — just several years later and in a completely different sport.
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