Arlington, Texas — For someone who has just recently retired, Colby Covington sure has been staying busy. Just weeks after announcing that he was stepping away from active mixed martial arts competition, the former interim UFC welterweight champion scored a victory over Chris Weidman at RAF 09 and immediately agreed to a future showdown with Arman Tsarukyan. What began as a retirement story has quickly become one of the biggest storylines in Real American Freestyle, a promotion that suddenly looks much closer to a legitimate player in combat sports.
Covington’s move to RAF surprised many fans when it was first announced. While he had been inactive inside the Octagon, he remained one of the UFC’s most recognizable personalities and one of the sport’s most reliable headline generators. Rather than continue waiting for another UFC booking, Covington chose to focus his attention on wrestling, the sport he has repeatedly described as his first love. The decision also opened the door to a variety of crossover matchups that would have been difficult to pursue while actively competing in the UFC.
The move makes even more sense when viewed through a business lens. Covington is not simply competing in RAF. He has publicly embraced the promotion’s long-term vision and appears invested in helping build it into a destination for elite wrestlers, former UFC champions, and high-profile crossover athletes. In many ways, his retirement from MMA competition feels less like an exit and more like a career pivot toward something he believes has room to grow.
The first real test of that decision came on Saturday, when Covington stepped onto the mat against former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. The matchup featured two accomplished collegiate wrestlers, two former UFC stars, and two athletes who understood exactly what was at stake. For RAF, it was one of the biggest matches the promotion had staged to date. For Covington, it was an opportunity to prove that his wrestling credentials still carried weight outside the UFC.
The match itself was far more competitive than many expected. Weidman used his size advantage effectively in the opening period and forced officials into a scoring review after a controversial sequence near the end of the round. When the dust settled, Weidman carried a 4-2 advantage into the second period and appeared to have momentum on his side. Covington responded the same way he spent years winning fights in the UFC. He pushed the pace, relied on his conditioning, and gradually wore down his opponent. A key takedown helped erase the deficit, and a shot-clock point in the final period proved to be the difference as Covington escaped with a narrow 5-4 victory.
It was not a dominant performance, nor was it the type of result that immediately silences critics. Weidman had success throughout the match and forced Covington to work for every point. Still, a win is a win, and Covington accomplished exactly what he needed to accomplish. Had he lost, questions about his future would have overshadowed everything else. Instead, he remained undefeated in RAF competition and left the arena with even more momentum than he brought into it.
The most important development of the night, however, may have occurred after the match ended. Throughout the build-up to RAF 09, Covington and Arman Tsarukyan exchanged verbal shots and repeatedly hinted at a future meeting. The tension continued throughout the event and only intensified once both men secured victories. Rather than allow the speculation to continue, the two agreed to make the fight official. Moments after defeating Weidman, Covington accepted Tsarukyan’s challenge, setting up a highly anticipated showdown at RAF 11 in Milwaukee on July 18.
That announcement may have been more significant for RAF than the Weidman victory itself. Every successful combat sports organization eventually reaches the point where storylines become as important as results. Fans tune in for rivalries. They invest in personalities. They become interested in what happens next. Covington and Tsarukyan provide exactly that kind of intrigue. Both men are accomplished wrestlers. Both have strong personalities. Both believe they are the superior competitor. Most importantly, both understand how to create attention. Both men LOVE to bring the drama.
For years, Covington built his reputation as one of the most polarizing figures in the UFC. His epic rivalries with Kamaru Usman, Jorge Masvidal, Dustin Poirier, and others often generated as much interest as the fights themselves. RAF is now hoping some of that same energy follows him onto the wrestling mat. If the promotion wants to become more than a niche product for hardcore wrestling fans, it needs recognizable stars and meaningful rivalries. Covington versus Tsarukyan gives the company both.
That is why RAF 09 felt bigger than a simple wrestling event. The promotion showcased recognizable names, delivered a competitive main attraction, and left fans with a future matchup that people immediately wanted to discuss. Those are the building blocks of any successful combat sports organization. The event also demonstrated that Covington’s post-UFC career is not going to be a quiet retirement tour. He is still competing, still promoting, and still finding ways to put himself at the center of the conversation.
For the UFC, Covington leaves behind a complicated legacy that will be debated for years. He won interim gold, challenged for the undisputed title, defeated several former champions, and spent years near the top of one of the toughest divisions in the sport. Whether that resume ultimately earns him a place in the Hall of Fame remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that Covington is not interested in spending his time looking backward.
RAF 09 offered a glimpse of what comes next. A hard-fought victory over a respected former champion. A growing role in a new promotion. And a rivalry with Arman Tsarukyan that already feels like one of the most important matches on the RAF calendar.
Colby Covington may be retired from the UFC, but after RAF 09, Chaos looks like he is just getting started.
Andrew Carswell is a combat sports columnist and college writing professor, based in Las Vegas, NV, whose work examines the intersection of fighting, media, business, and culture. His commentary and analysis have been featured in various magazines, newspapers, and media outlets, including Yahoo! News, and USA TODAY. Blending journalistic insight and experience with a fan’s perspective, Carswell writes about the fight game as both a cultural phenomenon and a global business.