Colby Covington Denies Refusing Sean Strickland RAF Match Over 10-Pound Weight Dispute

Sean Strickland and Colby Covington might actually be taking their beef to the wrestling mat if they can stop arguing about the weight. The two UFC rivals were reportedly close to settling their differences inside the circle at Real American Freestyle 14 in Las Vegas on October 23 before things completely fell apart.

According to Alex Behunin, RAF even explored putting the matchup together, with ‘Tarzan’ reportedly willing to wrestle at a 200-pound catchweight. Covington, however, reportedly wanted the bout at 190 pounds. That 10-pound gap was apparently enough to kill the matchup before it could happen.

But ‘Chaos’ isn’t exactly buying that story. The former UFC title challenger jumped onto X and called out the report, while making it pretty clear that he’s still interested in wrestling Sean Strickland.

“Fake news,” he tweeted. “I’ll wrestle @sstricklandmma at any weight he wants October 23rd @RAFWrestlingUSA in Las Vegas. Book it @ChadBronstein@IzzyStyle@EBischoff.”

November 1, 2019, New York, New York, USA: Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington during the UFC 245 press conference, PK, Pressekonferenz at Madison Square Garden. UFC 245: Press Conference PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY – ZUMA 94726328st Copyright: xJasonxSilvax

For now, though, the Sean Strickland-Colby Covington wrestling match is still up in the air. The UFC middleweight champion was reportedly down for the crossover, while Covington is now saying publicly that he’ll take the fight at whatever weight Strickland wants.

If RAF can actually get these two in the same wrestling circle, expect plenty of chaos. After all, ‘Tarzan’ and ‘Chaos’ already have no shortage of history; now they could get a whole new way to settle it.

The two may have some political overlap, but that has never exactly made them best buddies. In fact, Sean Strickland has repeatedly called Covington a “fraud” and taken shots at what he sees as a fake, WWE-style character built to win over political fans.

Things got even uglier after ‘Chaos’ mocked Leon Edwards’ late father during a pre-fight press conference. Strickland slammed the move as a “c— move” and called it cowardly, arguing that a “real American” should respect the parent who helped raise a champion.

Covington, meanwhile, has already found himself a new home after stepping away from MMA, and he’s been pretty busy on the RAF mats.

‘Chaos’ retired from MMA earlier this year and has since gone 5-0 in freestyle wrestling under the promotion’s banner at cruiserweight. Along the way, he picked up technical-fall wins over Luke Rockhold and Dillon Danis before beating Chris Weidman and Arman Tsarukyan by decision.

The win over the Armenian was the big one, earning Colby Covington the RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship.

But for now, the Sean Strickland matchup is still stuck in limbo. The former UFC fighter has publicly denied that he refused to wrestle at 200 pounds, so whether this is actually a weight issue or just another chapter in the Strickland-Covington saga remains to be seen.

While the ‘Tarzan’ matchup appears to have hit a dead end for now, Colby Covington isn’t exactly sitting around waiting. ‘Chaos’ already has another big RAF showdown lined up.

Colby Covington set to defend RAF title against Khamzat Chimaev

Colby Covington won’t have to wait long for another big-name showdown. ‘Chaos’ is set to defend his RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship against the very man Sean Strickland dethroned for the UFC middleweight title, Khamzat Chimaev, at RAF Abu Dhabi on November 14.

RAF has officially announced the matchup, with ‘Borz’ set to headline the event against Covington. After weeks of speculation surrounding the two former UFC titleholders, they’ll finally meet on the wrestling mats.

Chimaev enters the matchup with a perfect 3-0 record in RAF, having picked up wins over Dillon Danis, Tyron Woodley, and Gilbert Burns. He’ll also compete at RAF 14 in Las Vegas on October 24, where he is scheduled to face former UFC champion Robbie Lawler. He also has his eyes on a rematch with Strickland for the UFC title.

Covington, meanwhile, last competed in MMA in December 2024, when Joaquin Buckley stopped him via cut-induced TKO. He announced his retirement from MMA and the UFC in May but has since indicated that he hasn’t completely ruled out a return to the Octagon.

With Khamzat Chimaev already committed to RAF events in October and November, his next MMA appearance could potentially come in 2027. As for Colby Covington, the immediate task is defending his title against a familiar name from his UFC days.

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