Former UFC title challengers Colby Covington (17-5 UFC record) and Chris Weidman (16-8 UFC record) will compete against each other in a professional freestyle wrestling match. The bout is scheduled for May 30 at the RAF09 wrestling event. This represents an unusual crossover appearance for both fighters, who remain active in MMA. Covington has a wrestling background from his collegiate career, while former middleweight champion Weidman also has extensive grappling credentials. The match offers fans a chance to see these UFC veterans compete in a pure wrestling format outside of mixed martial arts.
Colby Covington and Chris Weidman are set to step away from MMA competition and onto the wrestling mat, with the two UFC veterans scheduled to face each other in a professional freestyle wrestling match on May 30 at the RAF09 wrestling event.
Covington, known as "Chaos," carries a 17-5 record in the UFC and competes at welterweight out of MMA Masters. The 38-year-old American, who stands five-foot-eleven with a 72-inch reach, built his early combat sports foundation through a collegiate wrestling career and has carried that grappling base into a high-level MMA run. In the cage, he averages 3.64 takedowns per 15 minutes, one of the more productive wrestling outputs in his division.
Weidman, nicknamed "The All-American," brings a 16-8 UFC record and a pedigree that includes a former middleweight championship. Now 42, the six-foot-two American trains out of the Serra-Longo Fight Team and has long been regarded as one of the sport's more complete grapplers. He averages 3.27 takedowns per 15 minutes and has logged 0.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes across his MMA career.
Why it matters
- Both fighters bring legitimate wrestling and grappling credentials, making the stylistic matchup competitive on paper rather than purely novelty-driven.
- The appearance keeps both veterans visible while MMA activity for each remains ongoing.
- A pure freestyle wrestling format removes the striking and submission variables that typically define their MMA bouts, putting the focus squarely on mat wrestling technique.
- The crossover event adds to a growing trend of combat sports athletes competing across disciplines outside their primary promotions.
