Colby Covington names the one thing Khamzat Chimaev must agree to for RAF showdown
Colby Covington expresses interest in a potential RAF wrestling showdown with Khamzat Chimaev but reveals that he has one condition before the matchup can happen.
The traction Real American Freestyle (RAF) has gained by putting the biggest UFC star in a wrestling match is worth appreciating. Many UFC fighters have stood out in the promotion and drawn significant fan attention to their matches. One such fighter is Colby Covington.
Covington has now expressed interest in taking on his longtime rival in the UFC, Khamzat Chimaev, for a wrestling match at RAF. This could be the biggest match the promotion could put on and has the potential to break all previous viewing records. However, the former UFC fighter has laid out one condition for the potential wrestling match.
Colby Covington reveals one condition for potential Khamzat Chimaev wrestling showdown
Covington vs. Chimaev had long been talked about as a fight in the UFC, but circumstances didn't play out to make it materialize, as Chimaev moved up from welterweight to middleweight, became champion, and then lost the title. While ‘Chaos’ announced his retirement a few months ago.
The hype for their wrestling match ignited significantly when Covington won against Chimaev’s close friend and UFC top lightweight Arman Tsarukyan, capturing the inaugural RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship in July. Since then, many fans have been demanding that RAF book the former UFC welterweight title challenger against ‘Borz.’
Recently, Covington addressed the potential wrestling match against Chimaev in his appearance on MMA Junkie. He acknowledged the fans' demand for the match but stressed he has no intention of accommodating Chimaev’s preferred weight.
The former UFC fighter believes RAF makes sense as the platform for finally settling their rivalry, but he wants Chimaev to meet him at a reasonable weight.
"It's the matchup the fans want. 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,” Covington said. “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 then suggested 185 pounds as the weight he considers fair and pointed out that it is the division Chimaev currently competes in under the UFC banner.
"Like 185, I think that's a fair weight class, you know, what he fights in the UFC. Just come down. He used to fight at 170, so it shouldn't be too hard making the weight, but we got to talk to his team to see if they can make it," Covington added.
Check out Colby Covington's comments below:
Tensions could boil over when Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev cross paths at RAF 13
It remains to be seen if the wrestling match comes to fruition before a potential match Chimaev has already set for two wrestling bout. This weekend, he is taking on former UFC champion Tyron Woodley, and after that, at RAF 13, he will take on Gilbert Burns.
RAF 13 is headlined by Covington vs. Belal Muhammad in the build-up to the event. The former UFC fighter and Borz will cross paths, raising the possibility that tensions could boil over into a heated confrontation at the press conference or backstage.
