Colby Covington wants to wrestle Sean Strickland before he faces Khamzat Chimaev.
Covington is set to wrestle Chimaev at RAF Abu Dhabi on November 14. Before that, he wants a shot at Strickland, the only fighter to beat Chimaev in MMA.
MMA Mania reported earlier this week that Covington had turned down a Real American Freestyle match with Strickland. According to the report, Strickland wanted the match at a 200-pound catchweight, and it fell apart when Covington insisted on 190 pounds.
Covington called the report “fake news” on X and offered to wrestle Strickland at any weight.
Fake news. I’ll wrestle [Sean Strickland] at any weight he wants October 23rd [at RAF] in Las Vegas. Book it.
The match had been targeted for RAF 14 in Las Vegas on October 23.
Strickland, who dethroned Chimaev at UFC 328 to win the UFC middleweight title, is expected to defend the belt before the end of the year. A fight with Nassourdine Imavov is expected to headline UFC 335 in Las Vegas on December 12.
Strickland recently told a fan on X that pay for the Imavov fight was still being discussed.
Once that detail is squared, it’s locked in. The issue is no one cares about the fake Frenchman. We’re almost there.
It is unclear whether Strickland would wrestle Covington once his title fight is official.
