Burns Challenges Covington to RAF Wrestling Match

Gilbert Burns has found his next chapter, and it's not in the Octagon. The former UFC welterweight title contender who hung up his MMA gloves in 2026 has been making waves in the grappling world, and now he's looking to settle one of his oldest scores—except not on the mat, and not in submission grappling. In an interview with MMA Fighting at UFC White House radio row on August 21, Burns laid out his next target: Colby Covington, a freestyle wrestling promotion called RAF, and a chance to finally put his hands on his longtime rival in a completely different ruleset.

"Finally [put my hands on Covington], right? That would be a good one. RAF, I'll do the wrestling. Let's do it." That's Burns, cutting straight to it. No flowery language, no politics. Just an athlete who spent years grappling with Covington in the UFC cage, now wanting to take the beef to a wrestling promotion that has become an unexpected landing spot for former UFC fighters.

This isn't random. RAF—a freestyle wrestling organization that operates outside the traditional submission-only grappling world—has quietly become a refuge for post-UFC athletes looking for a new challenge. Khamzat Chimaev has shown up. Now we've got Covington with a 4-0 record, coming off wins against Luke Rockhold, Dillon Danis, Chris Weidman, and Arman Tsarukyan. That's not a cupcake run. Those are legitimate opponents who bring credibility to the RAF banner.

Burns' move is interesting because it comes right after his UFC BJJ debut. In June 2026, he submitted Horlando Monteiro in just over a minute—a clean, dominant performance that showed he still has the grappling goods on the right stage. But here's the thing about Burns: his wrestling is genuinely sharp. People forget that because his UFC career was built on a submission-heavy guard game and an ability to control opponents in the clinch and on the ground. When he wants to wrestle, he wrestles. At 36 years old, coming off a decade of professional fighting, he's still dangerous.

The Covington angle is where this gets spicy. These two have history. They're both from the same era of welterweight fighting, both aggressive strikers with legitimate grappling bases, both unafraid to talk trash and back it up. Their rivalry never produced the megafight fans wanted—UFC politics and matchmaking being what they are—but the animosity is real. Covington has made a career out of manufacturing drama, but with Burns, the beef runs deeper than promotional theater. This is actual, genuine dislike dressed up as competition.

Covington's RAF run has been impressive by any measure. Going 4-0 against that caliber of opponent—Weidman is a former UFC middleweight champion, Tsarukyan was a top-15 UFC lightweight—shows that the grappling community isn't just signing UFC names for the marquee. These dudes still have to perform. Covington's wrestling base comes from his college days at Oregon State, where he was a solid wrestler but not an all-conference guy. He's refined that base under the right coaching and found matchups that suit his style. Either way, 4-0 is 4-0.

Burns' wrestling credentials are deeper. His background is serious—legitimate competition experience, solid fundamentals, the kind of foundation that doesn't disappear just because you spent 15 years competing in MMA. He's fought elite grapplers (Maia, Usman, Lawler, Wonderboy, Tyron). He's defended against the best wrestling in the UFC lightweight and welterweight divisions. His wrestling might be a secondary weapon compared to his jiu-jitsu, but it's not ceremonial.

What's interesting here is the format. Burns is explicitly saying "I'll do the wrestling," which is a subtle acknowledgment of the shift. In UFC, Burns was a jiu-jitsu guy who happened to wrestle. In RAF, he's agreeing to compete on terms that don't favor his submission arsenal. That's confidence. That's also a fighter who understands that the sport landscape has fragmented. No single promotion owns high-level grappling anymore. Floyd Mayweather has his boxing league, startup MMA orgs are everywhere, and now wrestling promotions are pulling from the same talent pool as submission grappling.

Covington's currently scheduled to face Belal Muhammad in the RAF 13 main event on September 19, so any Burns matchup is at least a few fights down the road. But the call-out is out there now, and it's the kind of thing that gains momentum if both guys keep winning. Covington has been open about his interest in wrestling post-UFC—it's a safer sport in terms of cumulative damage, it pays (RAF is reportedly offering solid purses), and it keeps him relevant without the grueling weight cuts and striking exchanges that define modern MMA.

For Burns, this is part of the bigger picture. UFC BJJ gave him a platform and a quick win. RAF offers competition against familiar names in a different context. The grappling world is increasingly horizontal—submission grappling, wrestling, judo, catch wrestling, they're all feeding off the same pool of athletes, all competing for eyeballs. Burns seems to be playing multiple formats simultaneously, which is smart. At 36, you don't have time to go all-in on one sport anymore. You test the waters, find where you fit, and accumulate wins in formats that keep your name visible.

MMA's greatest gift to alternative grappling is retired fighters. UFC doesn't want them competing at 145 or 170 anymore—too risky, too expensive, too many injury concerns. But wrestling promotions? Submission grappling? Those circuits are thrilled to host a former title contender. Burns brings credibility, history, and genuine competitive level. These aren't washed-up names looking for a paycheck. They're credible athletes still in their prime, just competing in a different lane.

The hypothetical Burns vs Covington wrestling match is interesting precisely because it's unfamiliar. MMA nerds can argue for days about striking exchanges, submission escapes, positional transitions. But pure freestyle wrestling? That's less familiar to the audience that grew up watching them in the UFC. It's fresh. It's novelty without the gimmick—seeing two athletes you know compete in a format you don't immediately understand.

Burns seems genuinely interested, not resentful or desperate. There's no "I have nothing left to prove" desperation here, no bitterness about getting cut or forced out. This reads like an athlete who's reached the natural end of one chapter and is actively exploring what's next. That's healthy for the sport. It means the competitive fire hasn't dimmed, it's just found a new outlet.

Covington will probably say yes if Burns gets a few wins on the RAF card first. That's how these things work. You can't call out the 4-0 guy if you haven't proven you belong in the conversation. But Burns has the resume and the fight history to earn the shot. And Covington, for all his faults, isn't the kind of guy to shy away from a spotlight matchup, especially against someone he's got real history with.

The wrestling world just got more interesting. And the MMA world got a reminder that its greatest athletes don't stop competing just because the promotion says so. They just find another place to do it.

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

Sources

• MMA Fighting - Gilbert Burns Interview at UFC White House Radio Row
• RAF - Colby Covington Fighter Record and Upcoming Events