Overview
- Covington defeated former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman by points at RAF 9 with an official 5-4 decision on Saturday night, giving him his third RAF win.
- Earlier in May Covington notified the UFC that he had retired from MMA so he could compete freely in Real American Freestyle and return to his wrestling roots.
- Covington told reporters the retirement was a way to remove the UFC’s contractual “red tape” that limits fighters from taking on other UFC athletes outside the promotion.
- A post-match faceoff with Arman Tsarukyan produced on-site talk of a likely next meeting on July 18 in Milwaukee, but that date and booking remain reported as developing and unconfirmed.
- RAF is using crossover names like Covington and Weidman to build a wrestling-focused, family-friendly product and Covington has said he is happier there while not ruling out a future MMA return.