Earlier this month, on May 19, former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington notified the fight promotion of his retirement from mixed marital arts competition. He had been with the company for 12 years.
Covington broke the news to the organization during a meeting with Chief business officer Hunter Campbell. While he’s stepping away from MMA, Covington isn’t leaving combat sports. He’ll be trading in his MMA gloves for wrestling shoes.
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“I had a good meeting with Hunter. And, you know, we just talked about the future and we talked about everything that’s been done and all the business we’ve done and it was a productive meeting,” Covington said on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“I just said that, you know, I’m very thankful for everything the UFC has allowed me to be able to do in my life and all the blessings that I’ve received from them. But, you know, this is the next step in my combat sports career is to join wrestling full-time, my first true love and passion,” continued Covington.
“I started wrestling when I was in diapers and I was a little kid and it was family business, you know, to go into the wrestling world. So now I can get back to doing what I love the most which is wrestling.”
Covington inked a deal with Real American Freestyle and debuted in the wrestling organization in January 2025 against former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. He won his debut and picked up a second win in March, defeating Dillon Danis. On Saturday, Covington will make his third appearance on the RAF mat against another former UFC middleweight titleholder, Chris Weidman.
