"Dirty dog" - Colby Covington unleashes verbal tirade at Khamzat Chimaev before RAF Abu Dhabi

Khamzat Chimaev and Colby Covington have traded several barbs over the years. Chimaev notably competed at both welterweight and middleweight before moving to the latter UFC division for good, whereas Covington was a UFC welterweight staple. 

Despite their bitter rivalry, a potential UFC clash between the veteran MMA fighters didn't come to fruition. Here, in 2026, the two athletes are finally set to clash, albeit in a freestyle wrestling match rather than an MMA clash.

Covington, ahead of his wrestling showdown against Chimaev in the Real American Freestyle (RAF) wrestling organization, has now sounded off on him in a fiery rant. 

UFC veteran Colby Covington sounds off on Khamzat Chimaev

Ex-interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington last competed in MMA back in 2024, and he retired from MMA and departed the UFC earlier this year. However, the American has consistently maintained that he's on good terms with the UFC and isn't opposed to competing in MMA under the UFC banner again. 

Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev lost his UFC middleweight belt by way of split decision to America's Sean Strickland back in May. The Chechnya-born UAE-based fighter has been keen on recapturing the title, but Strickland is expected to defend his belt in a rematch against Nassourdine Imavov. As such, it's unclear as to whom Chimaev's going to face. 

Well, Covington and Chimaev are set to wrestle against one another soon. Speaking to MMA Junkie's Farah Hannoun, Covington recently opened up about the high-profile wrestling match. 

Asserting that he was honored to be able to compete at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, Covington indicated that he's looking forward to taking on his longtime rival Chimaev. "Chaos" stated: 

"And to go up against Chimaev, you know, who's been talking sh** with me for years, saying he can beat me at this, he can beat me at that. He can't beat me at anything. He can't beat me in a wrestling match. He can't beat me in a fight." 

Covington proceeded to jibe at Chimaev's looks, saying, "He definitely can't beat me in a looks competition because that dude is ugly as a dog." 

Warning "Borz," he continued, "But besides that, you know, Sean Strickland made him b*tt-scoot in six minutes. I'm gonna do that in half the time. I'm gonna have him on his back, b*tt-scooting in three minutes. He's gonna be like a dirty dog who has diarrhoea, trying to scoot his bottom across the floor." 

Colby Covington deems Khamzat Chimaev a weight bully ahead of RAF Abu Dhabi

Around the 7:20-minute mark of the video below, Colby Covington implied that Khamzat Chimaev has primarily competed against opponents whom he outweighs by a significant margin. He pointed out that Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns, both past RAF opponents of Chimaev, were much smaller than the latter. 

Covington slammed his fellow wrestling savant for supposedly operating with a considerable weight advantage, saying, "He's a weight bully." 

Reigning RAF cruiserweight crossover champion Covington is booked to defend his title against Chimaev. "Chaos" and "Borz" will headline RAF Abu Dhabi at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on November 14. 

Watch Colby Covington lambast Khamzat Chimaev before their RAF clash below (*comments at the 4:47-minute mark of the video):