Colby Covington To Defend RAF Title Against Khamzat Chimaev

Colby Covington will defend his RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship against Khamzat Chimaev on November 14 at Etihad Arena, headlining Real American Freestyle's first event in Abu Dhabi.

Covington is 5-0 in RAF, with wins over Luke Rockhold, Dillon Danis and Chris Weidman before beating Arman Tsarukyan 5-3 to capture the inaugural title in July. He made his first defense earlier this month with a 10-0 technical fall over Belal Muhammad.

Chimaev is 3-0 in RAF, having beaten Dillon Danis and Tyron Woodley before a 15-4 technical fall win over Gilbert Burns at RAF 13. Before facing Covington, he's set to meet former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at RAF 14 on October 23 in Las Vegas.

The two have traded words dating back to Chimaev's rise in the UFC but have never actually competed against each other.

RAF has also announced appearances from Arman Tsarukyan, Henry Cejudo, Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Snyder and Abdulrashid Sadulaev on the Abu Dhabi card, with opponents still to be revealed.