Khamzat Chimaev secured a dominant first-period tech fall victory against former UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler at the Real American Freestyle (RAF) 14 event in Fontainebleau, Las Vegas, on October 23, 2026. Right after that impressive victory, the Chechen turned his eyes towards Colby Covington with a vicious callout.

In the post-match interview, the former UFC middleweight champion vowed to “break” Covington’s neck when they finally meet on the mat.

“Happy to finally get his guy and break his neck,” Chimaev said.

While Chimaev defeated Lawler at RAF 14, his upcoming clash against Colby Covington is already scheduled to take place next month. Both will collide at RAF’s first-ever event in Abu Dhabi on November 14 in Etihad Arena. Interestingly, ‘Borz’ leaked the details of this fight at the RAF 13 presser before the promotion officially announced it.

Although Chimaev made a bone-chilling callout to Covington at the packed arena in Fontainebleau, Las Vegas, it was just an intimidation tactic played by the former UFC champ. He actually doesn’t intend to break ‘Chaos’s neck.

However, this is not the first time he has threatened ‘Chaos.’ He issued a similar or even more intimidating threat towards Covington at the RAF 14 pre-fight presser on Thursday. 

“I can break his neck, finally,” Chimaev said. “I know he’s not happy to come over there (to Abu Dhabi). He will need an ambulance to send him back.” 

The recent menacing words definitely came from Chimaev’s side. However, Colby Covington has also played his part in escalating their animosity.

In early October, ‘Chaos’ joined prominent MMA journalist Ariel Helwani on his show, where he mocked Chimaev for losing against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 in May by calling him a quitter.

“Khamzat doesn’t have that type of mentality,” Covington said. “He’s a quitter. He’s had everything handed to him.”

Besides their personal beef, Chimaev vs. Covington’s freestyle wrestling matchup has massive stakes attached to it. 

At present, Colby Covington has emerged as a dominant force in RAF. The former UFC fighter is currently 5-0 in the promotion, with his latest win coming over Belal Muhammad. On the other hand, Chimaev has also reinforced his reputation by going 4-0 in RAF so far, with his most recent win coming against Robbie Lawler.

Plus, Covington will defend his RAF crossover cruiserweight belt against Chimaev, making the matchup even more significant, as there’s an actual championship attached to it.

However, the heart of their freestyle bout remains the beef between Chimaev and Covington that’s been brewing since they shared the same weight class in the UFC. 

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Colby Covington: a tale of deep-rooted animosity

Chimaev and Covington have been going back and forth before their freestyle wrestling match. But their history is marked by hate for each other since they shared the welterweight division in the UFC.

Both MMA stars teased a fight multiple times. However, their clash fizzled out for a multitude of reasons, negotiations being one. In 2023, the reporters finally asked Colby Covington about what actually derailed the fight vs. Chimaev. In response, ‘Chaos’ blamed Borz for ducking fighting him and also called him unreliable because of the Chechen’s weight issues at 170 lbs.

“He’s a f— joke,” Covington said. “The guy f— sucks at fighting. He’s unprofessional, and I don’t want to ever hear that guy’s name again.”

Colby Covington scorched Khamzat Chimaev for his egregious weight miss at UFC 279 against Nate Diaz. The Chechen fighter tipped the non-title welterweight limit of 171 pounds by 7.5 pounds, coming in at 178.5 lbs. That weight miss prompted UFC to pit him against Kevin Holland, while Tony Ferguson faced Nate Diaz at the main event.

The former UFC interim welterweight champion’s words stung Chimaev badly, who swore against dodging a fight with Covington.

“Colby’s lying, he doesn’t want to fight,” Chimaev said on his YouTube channel. “I swear with everything I have. I swear with God, I accept the fight four times, and all Muslims understand I swear with the Koran. I get a call four times ‘do you want to fight?’ I said yes. I had a conversation with Sean Shelby as well; I can show it, [that] we’re going to fight with this guy, and it never happened. There is no more.”  

After many years of animosity, Khamzat Chimaev vs. Colby Covington’s clash is looking more likely than ever. Hopefully, the bout will stay intact so the fans can finally witness two rivals collide, albeit on a freestyle wrestling mat and not in a UFC cage.