Colby Covington Sets 185-Pound Condition for Khamzat Chimaev Match
Colby Covington put a hard number on a possible Real American Freestyle meeting with Khamzat Chimaev, saying the match has to happen at 185 pounds.
The former UFC welterweight title challenger made that demand in comments to Helen Yee Sports while sitting next to Chimaev, and he refused to move toward a 200-pound catchweight.
“I’m not going to accommodate him and his weight,” Covington said. “I’m not going to go up to 200 lbs, so unless he wants to come down to 185 lbs…”
The timing is not accidental. Chimaev appeared to leak the pairing during RAF 13 fight-week media, telling reporters that Covington is out of the UFC and that the two could wrestle in Abu Dhabi before adding that he may have spoken too soon.
Covington is treating that talk as a later conversation. He is scheduled first to defend the RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship against longtime rival Belal Muhammad in Friday’s RAF 13 main event at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables.
“You know, I gotta get through Balon tomorrow,” Covington said. “I’m not looking too far ahead, you know, when you start looking too far ahead, you forget about what’s ahead of you, you know.”
He framed the title defense as the only job that matters tonight.
“Tomorrow night, I gotta defend my cruiserweight crossover RFA championship of the world, and I gotta put on a spectacular performance,” he said.
Covington left the UFC earlier this year after a December 2024 loss to Joaquin Buckley and has gone 4-0 since joining RAF. He won the inaugural crossover title in July by edging Arman Tsarukyan 5-3 at RAF 11.
That belt, he said, sits at 185 pounds. After the Muhammad match, he plans to sit down with RAF leadership rather than book the Chimaev date himself.
“So, you know, after that’s done, we’ll sit at the drawing table, we’ll talk to Chad Braunstein, we’ll talk to Izzy Martinez, and we’ll talk to Eric Bischoff, and we’ll see what they have in store,” Covington said.
He then circled back to the weight. “That’s where my crossover cruiserweight championship is at, is at 185 pounds.”
The demand is aimed at a fighter who now lives at middleweight. Chimaev went 5-0 at welterweight in the UFC before moving up, then won the 185-pound title and lost it by split decision to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 in May.
Chimaev is 15-1 as a professional and remains active in both promotions. He wrestles Gilbert Burns on the same RAF 13 card, a rematch of their UFC 273 meeting.
Covington has said before that a UFC fight with Chimaev never happened because Chimaev could not make 170 and moved up. He has also said he will not give away 30 pounds on the mat after walking around 188 to 189 in earlier RAF matches booked near 200.
That stance matters because RAF has already used heavier catchweights for crossover names. Covington accepted those numbers while chasing the title. As champion, he is now setting the scale.
A Covington-Chimaev wrestling match would be the biggest crossover date RAF has built. Both men were once linked at welterweight inside the UFC, and both have used the new league to stay visible while MMA matchmaking stalled.
Nothing is signed. Covington still has to get through Muhammad, and Chimaev still has to get through Burns before Abu Dhabi becomes more than a press-conference slip.
If the talks start in earnest, the first argument is already on the table. Covington wants 185. He is not offering to climb.