Covington Out, Weidman In on Short Notice
Colby Covington has pulled out of his wrestling match against Khamzat Chimaev at RAF Abu Dhabi, the first Middle East event for the Real American Freestyle (RAF) league, scheduled for Saturday, November 14, 2026. Gulf News, The National and MMA Sucka report Covington withdrew with an injury just days before the card, with no details made public on the nature of it. Chimaev reacted to the news on X by writing that Covington was “not coming” and calling him scared, before organizers confirmed the change of opponent. Chris Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion, has agreed to step in and face Chimaev in the main event on short notice. The matchup between Chimaev and Covington had been billed since late September as the headline bout of RAF’s debut Middle East show. The event takes place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and features 14 matches on the card, part of a five-year partnership between RAF, the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism and the UAE Wrestling Federation.
The Title on the Line Shifts Weight Classes
Chimaev’s original bout with Covington was for the RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship, a belt Covington had held since beating Arman Tsarukyan at RAF 11 in July and defended against Belal Muhammad in September with a 10-0 technical fall. With Covington out, Gulf News and The National report the fight now carries the RAF Light Heavyweight Crossover Championship instead, a different weight class from the one originally announced. Covington, a two-time NCAA All-American wrestler and the UFC’s 2018 interim welterweight champion, was unbeaten through five RAF bouts before withdrawing, with wins that included Luke Rockhold, Dillon Danis and Chris Weidman himself at RAF 9 in May, a 5-4 decision.
Weidman Returns to Abu Dhabi
Chris Weidman retired from MMA competition in January 2025. A two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at Hofstra University, he ended Anderson Silva’s middleweight title reign by knockout in 2013 and defended the belt three times afterward. He returned to competitive wrestling through RAF in May at that same RAF 9 card. Saturday’s bout marks his first appearance in Abu Dhabi, this time across from Khamzat Chimaev rather than Covington. Bloody Elbow describes him as a UFC Hall of Famer taking the short-notice assignment. Weidman told Gulf News: “Wrestling has always been a huge part of my life, and I love competing against the best.” He added that he is “ready to go out there and give it everything I’ve got.”
Chimaev Unbeaten in RAF, Eyes a UFC Return
Khamzat Chimaev remains unbeaten under the RAF banner, with wins over Dillon Danis, Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns, and most recently a 11-0 technical fall over Robbie Lawler at RAF 14 in October. Born in Chechnya in 1994, he moved to Sweden as a teenager before settling in Dubai in 2023 and becoming a UAE citizen in 2025, according to The National. In the UFC, Chimaev won the middleweight title by beating Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319, then lost it to Sean Strickland by split decision at UFC 328 in May 2026, the only loss on his 16-fight MMA record. He says he intends to return to the UFC at middleweight to win the belt back, and that he has heard of a possible matchup with Nassourdine Imavov or a rematch with Sean Strickland, though neither has been confirmed by the UFC. Imavov himself confronted Strickland in October over a rematch reportedly targeted for February in Florida, as previously reported by MMA Official.
A Stacked Card for RAF’s Middle East Debut
Beyond the main event, RAF Abu Dhabi’s debut card features several names familiar to UFC fans who have crossed over to freestyle wrestling under the RAF banner. Per MMA Sucka, Arman Tsarukyan faces Neiman Gracie and Umar Nurmagomedov faces Urijah Faber, alongside bouts involving Merab Dvalishvili and Julianna Peña. Wrestlers Kyle Snyder, Jordan Burroughs, Henry Cejudo and Abdulrashid Sadulaev round out a card that marks RAF’s first event outside the United States since the league’s founding.
RAF bouts are contested in regulation wrestling singlets with no striking allowed. Our MMA rash guard ranking compares the best model from each brand at https://mma-official.com/en/top-produits/mma-rash-guards-brand-ranking-2026/.
