Khamzat Chimaev returns to action Saturday, headlining RAF Moscow in a highly anticipated catchweight wrestling match against former UFC champion Tyron Woodley. This marks Chimaev’s first major competitive outing since losing his undisputed UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 back in May.
Following the bitter split-decision defeat and subsequent locker room tensions, former interim champion Colby Covington announced he is finally open to sharing the mats for a blockbuster Real American Freestyle match against the former middleweight kingpin, but only if Chimaev agrees to his strict terms.
Colby Covington Demands Khamzat Chimaev Drop to 185 Pounds
The bad blood between Covington and Chimaev has been brewing for years. Back in the UFC, the promotion tried to book them for a major welterweight fight. However, it fell apart because Chimaev kept struggling to make the 170-pound weight limit, leading to his infamous weight miss at UFC 279. When Chimaev moved up to middleweight, the fight became impossible.
Now, the rivalry has restarted on the wrestling mats. Because Covington holds this advantage as a champion here, he is forcing Chimaev to play by his rules.
“It’s the matchup the fans want,” Covington told MMA Junkie. “I’ve always wanted this matchup for a long time. We were supposed to cross paths at one point in the UFC, but he was unprofessional.”
Colby Covington is serious about an RAF match vs. Khamzat Chimaev BUT under one condition. 👀
(via @dannyseguratv) pic.twitter.com/EQZys6xReT
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 4, 2026
He continued: “He couldn’t make the weight, and he went up a weight class, so that fight never transpired. It makes a lot of sense for RAF, but I’m not going to accommodate his weight. I’m not going to his bogus demands. He’s going to have to come to a fair weight class for me.”
Covington has competed at 200 pounds in RAF before, but he argued that as a champion, he should not have to give up a massive size advantage. He is demanding that Chimaev cut down to a strict limit of 185 pounds, arguing that since the former middleweight champion used to make 170 pounds in the UFC, dropping to 185 should be fair and manageable.
Is Colby Covington Better Than Khamzat Chimaev in RAF?
In the UFC, Chimaev clearly holds the better 15-1 record. Meanwhile, Covington struggled in his later UFC title runs and eventually retired from MMA to focus entirely on freestyle wrestling.
However, in the RAF, Covington has far more experience because he has faced much tougher opposition on the mats. During his perfect 4–0 run to the Cruiserweight Crossover Championship, Covington consistently beat elite, larger wrestlers.
His resume includes dominant victories over former UFC middleweight champions like Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman, along with a Cruiserweight Crossover Championship victory over lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan.
Right after winning at RAF 11, Belal Muhammad confronted Covington at the press conference. Officials initially booked their grudge match for RAF 12 to settle the feud, but negotiations delayed the timeline. Covington will now make his first official title defense against Muhammad on Sept. 19 in the main event of RAF 13 in Miami.
Chimaev’s 2–0 record in freestyle wrestling looks impressive on paper but is not better than Covington’s. Moreover, he has not faced any big names on the mat yet. His debut win came against Dillon Danis, who is more popular for internet trolling than high-level freestyle wrestling.
However, Chimaev’s recent match against Woodley in Moscow provides a better test since Woodley entered the match highly confident, coming off a dramatic 14-8 comeback victory over Joaquin Buckley in August.
With one holding the better UFC record and the other holding the better wrestling record, it will be an interesting showdown if they finally face off on the mat.
