Overview
- Colby Covington, who spoke to Submission Radio on June 9, publicly called Khamzat Chimaev a “quitter” and said Chimaev is “mentally weak” while trashing his UFC 328 performance.
- Khamzat Chimaev lost the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland in May and his camp has blamed an extreme weight cut for the performance and pushed for a rematch.
- Covington has formally retired from the UFC and signed with Real American Freestyle, where he is booked to wrestle Arman Tsarukyan at RAF 11 and Chimaev is scheduled to face Dillon Danis at RAF 10.
- Reporting notes a prior UFC–RAF understanding limited active UFC fighters from meeting each other and that Covington’s retirement removes that obstacle though contractual details could still affect any matchup.
- Promoters and media are speculating that RAF could promote a Covington–Chimaev grudge match on the mats, but no such fight is confirmed and UFC title plans remain unsettled while Strickland is medically sidelined.