Real American Freestyle is quickly gaining traction as an athlete-first wrestling promotion, and UFC’s Colby Covington, Henry Cejudo, and Bo Nickal are at the forefront of the new event. Not even a year has passed, and the promotion already looks booked with promising potential fights, all thanks to Covington.
After sweeping the UFC welterweight division with his exceptional takedown skills, the interim UFC champion is ready to translate his grappling IQ to a purely wrestling-based environment. And his RAF hit list is already packed with star-studded wrestlers and grapplers of his pedigree.
Advertisement
Colby Covington looks to settle UFC accounts
Colby Covington is set to make his RAF debut against Luke Rockhold on January 10, 2026, in the RAF’s fifth flagship event. But he is interested in a more serious competitive wrestling run at the promotion, expressing his willingness to test his wrestling groove against former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre.
Putting GSP on top of his dream RAF bouts, Covington told the pre-fight presser, “You know, you look at the history list in the UFC takedowns—I’m number two. He’s number one. So, you know, he’s the only person above me. That’s who I want.”
GSP, who has previously terrorized the 170-pound division, currently holds the UFC welterweight record for the most takedowns landed, at 87, despite having no collegiate wrestling background. In fact, St-Pierre has even dominated wrestlers in their own game, finishing 9 successful title defenses. With Covington next to only GSP, it only makes sense for ‘Chaos’ to settle those accounts, preferably at RAF, now that both fighters are inactive in the UFC.
Besides GSP, Covington has put forth others on his RAF dream list. That includes his past rival, Kamaru Usman, who delivered two of the most testing welterweight bouts for Covington. While Usman carded both of those bouts, the contests were razor-close, with Usman ready for a rematch, too. Other elite grapplers also made the list.
Advertisement
“Yeah, definitely ‘Marty Fake Newsman’ [Usman] is someone that I’m gonna wanna fight until the day I’m dead. So, I’d love to wrestle Marty. Belal [Muhammad] would be a fun one,” he continued. “Maybe Khabib [Nurmagomedov] has had some talks; he might want to come over. So, there are a lot of good matchups that RAF can provide. I’m just super excited to get on the mat tomorrow night.”
Clearly, Covington is approaching his wrestling outlet with intention, as evident even with his debut bout against Rockhold.
Colby Covington spills the tea on his RAF debut
RAF is a dream-come-true promotion for realizing his wrestling dreams. And this debut is more than a test bout for Covington to check his engine’s ignition. In fact, Rockhold is someone who’s just as excited to fight.
Advertisement
“I was excited. [Rockhold] is a big name. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, he’s a former UFC champion,” Covington said. “He used to wrestle Cain Velasquez, Daniel Cormier, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. So, he’s a great, talented guy. He’s a strong guy, he’s a bigger guy.”
Indeed, the bout against Rockhold won’t be a walk in the park for him, despite his more extensive grappling pedigree, mostly due to the size disadvantage. Rockhold, who competed at a different UFC weight class, went as high as the light heavyweight division, which is 35 pounds heavier than Covington’s division.
Still, Covington hasn’t shied away from the challenge, entering the RAF scene with an unmatched level of confidence and clarity. The real question is: Will Covington be able to translate it into a victory against an opponent as challenging as Rockhold? Comment your predictions below.
The post Colby Covington Puts Khabib, GSP, and Others on His RAF Wrestling Hit List appeared first on EssentiallySports.
