Colby Covington has intensified his pressure on Arman Tsarukyan and Khamzat Chimaev, outlining a plan to first “crush” the lightweight contender on the Real American Freestyle (RAF) wrestling mats, and then challenge the UFC middleweight champion.
Colby Covington’s Claims About Arman Tsarukyan
In a recent interview, Covington expressed interest in a wrestling match with Tsarukyan, who has become a key figure in the UFC’s 155-pound division and is also active in RAF. Covington stated he wants to face Tsarukyan in RAF first, followed by Chimaev, promising to “crush his boy right in front of him” before turning to the Chechen star on the mats. He added that if Chimaev chooses to wrestle him, “he knows how high level I am,” framing the entire challenge as a way to prove his skills in a rule set favoring pure grappling.
Covington has heavily leveraged his history with Tsarukyan at American Top Team to build excitement for the matchup. He claimed the Armenian used to be his “light rounds” at ATT, saying that after tough rounds, he would bring in Tsarukyan and “beat him up” as a young training partner.
Following up on his statements, Covington insisted that “100% they grappled,” that he was “levels above him,” took Tsarukyan down “many times,” and that Tsarukyan never scored a takedown on him. He accused Tsarukyan of “acting a little arrogant” and “not being real and truthful” about how those sessions actually went.
Tsarukyan has become a central figure in both RAF and the UFC, with recent wrestling league victories over Lance Palmer and Georgio Poullas, and a booked rematch with Poullas after a heated post-fight scene earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Covington is coming off RAF wins, including a debut victory over Luke Rockhold and a decision over Dillon Danis at RAF 7. He has used these results to argue that he is “undefeated in RAF” and a key name for the promotion’s future cards. The American has also claimed that the UFC and Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell blocked an earlier attempt to secure a Tsarukyan wrestling matchup in RAF, asserting that UFC contracts prevent him from facing active roster contenders on the freestyle circuit.
Colby Covington’s latest remarks follow a successful outing at RAF 7, where he secured a decision win over Dillon Danis in their freestyle wrestling main event. In that match, Covington maintained a steady pace and controlled significant portions of the grappling exchanges, utilizing pressure, mat returns, and top control to edge Danis on the scorecards.
This result gave him another high-profile win on the RAF stage and strengthened his argument that he remains a serious threat in pure wrestling against elite names. With Danis handled in RAF, Covington has been even more vocal about wanting Tsarukyan next on the mats, and then bringing Khamzat Chimaev into the same setting to settle their feud in front of a live audience.
Colby Covington Wants Khamzat Chimaev
Chimaev is the next target in this public campaign. Covington stated that RAF officials have discussed a potential wrestling clash with the middleweight champion after Chimaev’s next title defense, and has accused him of scamming supporters with a controversial memecoin project, claiming he raised millions before pulling the plug.
Covington framed a future RAF showdown with Chimaev as a form of payback, stating that fans “want me to get revenge” and that “the RAF mats” would be the perfect setting for it. Whether the UFC will approve any of these wrestling grudge matches remains unclear, but Covington’s message is simple: dominate Tsarukyan in front of Chimaev, then bring “Borz” into the freestyle spotlight next.
