Chris Weidman will not be confident of Colby Covington making it to the mats next Saturday.
The previous UFC stars are among the many top names set to be in motion on the ninth Real American Freestyle event on May 30.
Weidman will make his debut against Covington on a card that also features Gable Steveson’s first RAF outing, in addition to a clash between Merab Dvalishvili and Frankie Edgar.
However the ex-UFC middleweight champion stays wary about the possibilities of his booked match actually coming to fruition.
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Chris Weidman expresses worry over Colby Covington showing up at RAF 09
Weidman has not fought since a loss to Pat Downey at Fury Pro Grappling 13 in May 2025. That marked his only outing in any competitive form since leaving the UFC.
In ‘Chaos’, the UFC Hall of Famer won’t be coming up against an energetic MMA star. Covington recently retired from the game, a choice that got here after he had gone public along with his complaints about missing out on a spot on the UFC White House event.
The previous interim welterweight champion is anticipated to be energetic under the RAF banner moving forward, but Weidman has not been totally convinced that will probably be the case on May 30.
“I believe he must think I’m dead or my body has just taken such a beating, which he’s right about that, 31 surgeries and stuff and I figure he’s attempting to take that true All-American status from me,” Weidman told MMA Fighting.
“But I’m surprised, too. I’m not Dillon Danis. I’m not Luke Rockhold with regards to wrestling. It’s going to be an enormous step up for him.
“An element of me was super excited because I believe I’m going to crush him, but then the opposite a part of me is like, I don’t think he’s stepping in there with me,” he continued. “I’m training as if it’s happening but I feel like there’s going to be an excuse.
“After all on this last RAF, Arman (Tsarukyan) wins and he calls out Colby and he’s like, ‘Weidman can wait, let’s do that and I’ll beat Arman after which I’ll wrestle Weidman.’ I’m like here he goes. Here he goes, he’s running already.”
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Covington beat Danis at RAF 07 in March, a few months after making his successful arrival in the brand new wrestling organization against Rockhold.
Weidman believes he’ll pose a much tougher test for ‘Chaos’ at RAF 09, which is able to happen on the College Park Center of University of Texas at Arlington.