Covington Claims Weidman RAF Match Is Already a 'Done Deal' for May

Colby Covington wants you to know his next match is already settled.

Days after tech-falling Dillon Danis 14-4 at RAF 07 in Tampa, Covington told Submission Radio that he's facing former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman at RAF 09 on May 30 in Dallas. "Me and Chris Weidman is a done deal for RAF9," he said. "It's gonna be on May 30."

Here's what actually happened.

After the Danis win, Covington grabbed the mic. "I want Chris Weidman. Let's find out who the real American is right here on the Real American Freestyle mats. Get off your couch, pack a lunch, because it's going to be a long night."

Weidman, watching from home, accepted on X. Then deleted the post. Then went quiet.

Covington took this as confirmation.

To be fair, Weidman did repost Covington's callout — the social media equivalent of liking someone's LinkedIn update without actually taking the meeting. Nobody knows why the acceptance came down. Weidman hasn't addressed it publicly since.

But the best part wasn't the Weidman confirmation. It was the quiet admission that preceded it.

"That's the backup plan if we're not able to get Arman."

Arman Tsarukyan — the UFC lightweight contender who's 3-0 in RAF and already booked for RAF 08 against Urijah Faber on April 18 — was Plan A. The UFC said no. So Covington is promoting a match against a man he publicly ranked second on his wish list. And the man he ranked second deleted his acceptance.

On paper, the wrestling credentials make this genuinely interesting. Covington was a Pac-10 champion at Oregon State, an NCAA All-American at 174 pounds, and a JUCO national champ at Iowa Central with a 34-0 record. Weidman — whose literal nickname is "The All-American" — placed third at NCAAs for Hofstra at 197 pounds and was a two-time D1 All-American. Both were collegiate standouts. Both fought for UFC titles. Neither holds one now.

The circumstances tell the rest of the story. Covington, 38, still has three or four fights on his UFC contract but can't seem to get booked. The UFC passed on him for the White House card. He's ranked 15th at welterweight. His last octagon appearance was a loss to Leon Edwards in December 2023. The former interim champion is wrestling on Fox Nation.

Weidman, 41, retired from MMA in December 2024 after a TKO loss to Eryk Anders — the final chapter after the Anderson Silva leg break that still haunts every combat sports highlight reel. Since retiring, he's explored a Silva trilogy on the Netflix card, a Luke Rockhold rematch in the Global Fight League, and now freestyle wrestling. If a combat sports opportunity exists in 2026, Weidman has expressed interest in it.

RAF 09 also features Gable Steveson's debut — the Olympic gold medalist whose competitive timeline is actually moving forward instead of circling back.

Covington says it's done. Weidman's X account hasn't mentioned it since the deleted post. In combat sports, the distance between "done deal" and "one guy talking" is about the width of a tweet that used to exist.

Sources

• Bloody Elbow — Covington claims RAF match is a 'done deal' for May
• Sherdog — Covington: Weidman matchup 'a done deal' for RAF 9
• Yardbarker — Covington says bout set for May RAF event
• BJJEE — Covington dominates Danis at RAF 7
• BJPenn.com — Weidman responds to Covington's RAF 7 callout
• Hofstra Athletics — Chris Weidman wrestling profile
• Yahoo Sports — Gable Steveson signs multi-match RAF deal

This post was generated by AI. Sources are linked above. Follow @bjj-problems on YouTube for the weekly video digest.