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.<\/p>\n
Chimaev returns to the wrestling mats against former UFC Welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns at RAF 13 tomorrow night<\/a> (Fri., Sept. 18, 2026) inside Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida. However, \u201cBorz\u201d apparently already knows who \u2014 and where \u2014 he will wrestle next.<\/p>\n During the RAF 13 press conference, Chimaev was asked who he would like to wrestle next under the RAF banner. He immediately pointed to longtime rival Colby Covington, who left UFC earlier this year to focus on his wrestling career \u2014 and seemingly revealed a future matchup in the process.<\/p>\n \u201cColby is not in the UFC right now, so I think we\u2019re going to wrestle in Abu Dhabi,\u201d Chimaev said before smiling and awkwardly looking around the room. \u201cUh, I maybe announced that too early. Sorry, guys.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, the cat is out of the bag now.<\/p>\n Neither RAF nor Covington has officially announced the match, and no date was revealed for the promotion\u2019s apparent Abu Dhabi debut. Nevertheless, Chimaev\u2019s hilarious reaction certainly made it seem like the highly anticipated matchup is already being worked on behind the scenes \u2014 if it hasn\u2019t been finalized altogether.<\/p>\n Chimaev and Covington were linked to an MMA fight for years<\/a> while both competed in UFC\u2019s Welterweight division, but the matchup never materialized<\/a>. Chimaev eventually moved permanently to Middleweight, where he captured the championship, while Covington retired from mixed martial arts after going nearly two years without competing.<\/p>\n The rivalry followed both men to RAF.<\/p>\n Covington has gone undefeated since transitioning to RAF and captured the promotion\u2019s inaugural Cruiserweight Crossover championship by defeating UFC Lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan in July (watch highlights<\/a>). Before potentially meeting Chimaev in Abu Dhabi, Covington will defend his title against longtime rival<\/a> Belal Muhammad in tomorrow night\u2019s RAF 13 main event.<\/p>\n Assuming both fighters make it through RAF 13 without suffering an injury, it sounds like Chimaev vs. Covington is finally happening \u2014 just several years later and in an entirely different sport.<\/p>\n