Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev Are Finally Fighting (Just Not in a Cage)

The fight MMA fans spent three years screaming about on Twitter is finally happening. There is just one catch: there is no cage, no striking, and no four-ounce gloves.

Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev are officially headlining RAF Abu Dhabi in a wrestling title match. It only took a completely different sport and a trip to the Middle East to finally get these two to sign a contract.

"Chimaev previously leaked the match saying, 'Colby is not in the UFC right now, so I think we’re going to wrestle in Abu Dhabi.'"

Both guys just finished treating elite UFC fighters like grappling dummies at RAF 13. Covington blanked Belal Muhammad 10-0, while Chimaev tossed Gilbert Burns around for a 15-4 technical fall. Now they get to settle a grudge that has been marinating since Chimaev first showed up and started terrifying the welterweight division.

The funniest part of this negotiation is the scale. Covington flat-out refused to wrestle at 200 pounds, demanding a 185-pound limit. For context, asking the current UFC middleweight champion to cut weight for a freestyle wrestling match is like asking a heavyweight to run a 5K before a title fight.

Oddsmakers are going to have a miserable time pricing this one. You have Covington’s endless cardio and Division I All-American pedigree against Chimaev’s terrifying physical strength. Early lines usually lean toward the bigger guy in these crossover events, but Covington actually knows how to game the freestyle ruleset.

We will find out soon enough if the weight cut drains Chimaev or if he just launches Covington into the third row anyway. Either way, the press conference alone is going to require a small army of security guards.