Belal Muhammad says Colby Covington has already taken the legal route to keep him at a distance before the two finally meet on Friday night.
Muhammad challenges Covington for the RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship in the main event of RAF 13, which takes place Friday, September 18 at the Watsco Center at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The 12-match card starts at 8 p.m. ET and streams live on Fox Nation.
Speaking with MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Muhammad claimed protections are now in place after the pair’s press conference brawl in July.
“He’s a coward. He hid behind security. He’s already trying to put restraining orders on anything happening,” Muhammad said, adding that he intends to beat Covington up on the mat instead.
Asked to clarify, Muhammad said authorities would be waiting if anything physical happened away from the match, and that he plans to “smash him the right way” as a professional. He also framed the rules as no protection at all for a man he says will fold, saying it will not be a fight, “but wrestling inside the trenches, it is a fight.”
https://x.com/RAFWrestlingUSA/status/2097371692959965328Years Of UFC Beef Land On The RAF Mat
Covington and Muhammad spent years near the top of the UFC welterweight division without ever being booked against each other. The grudge carried over to freestyle wrestling this summer, when Muhammad beat Ben Askren at RAF 11 and immediately called for Covington, who had just handed Arman Tsarukyan his first RAF loss to claim the inaugural crossover title.
The two brawled at the RAF 11 post-fight press conference after the match was announced, with Muhammad throwing a kick at Covington before both camps piled in. Covington then declared the match dead, citing Muhammad’s behavior, before RAF brass overruled him and rebooked it for Miami.
Covington is 4-0 under the RAF banner in 2026, with wins over Chris Weidman, Dillon Danis, Luke Rockhold and Tsarukyan. Muhammad is 1-1, having lost his debut to David Carr before the win over Askren.
Muhammad is not planning a quiet points win. “I’m gonna go for the tech fall but if I see the pin there, I’m gonna go for the pin,” he said on his YouTube channel, before floating the idea of waving off the referee to power-bomb or suplex Covington instead.
Chimaev And Burns Run It Back
The co-main event revisits one of the best fights of 2022. Khamzat Chimaev beat Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision at UFC 273 in April of that year, and the two now meet in a catchweight crossover match under an entirely different ruleset.
Chimaev has been the most destructive crossover act RAF has produced. He pinned Danis in 45 seconds on debut at RAF 10, then needed 94 seconds to pin Tyron Woodley at RAF Moscow on September 5. Burns, who retired from MMA earlier this year, makes his first RAF appearance.
Four Titles And A Hometown Debut
Four championship matches fill out the card. Kennedy Blades meets Diana Avsaragova for the women’s middleweight title, Austin DeSanto faces Arsen Harutyunyan for the bantamweight belt, and Johnni DiJulius and Cayden Henschel wrestle for the inaugural featherweight crossover championship.
Miami native Julian Ramirez, a four-time NCAA qualifier, draws three-time NCAA champion Jason Nolf for the middleweight title in his RAF debut. Mike Holston, the viral wildlife creator better known as Real Tarzann, also debuts in his hometown against Mugzy.
Luke Rockhold and Joe Pyfer meet in a light heavyweight crossover match, while Wyatt Hendrickson vs. Greg Kerkvliet was postponed due to injury when the full lineup was locked in earlier this month.
RAF 13 Full Card
- Colby Covington (c) vs. Belal Muhammad, Cruiserweight Crossover Championship
- Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns, Catchweight Crossover
- Kennedy Blades vs. Diana Avsaragova, Women’s Middleweight Championship
- Austin DeSanto vs. Arsen Harutyunyan, Bantamweight Championship
- Michael Caliendo vs. Timur Bizhoev, Welterweight
- Luke Rockhold vs. Joe Pyfer, Light Heavyweight Crossover
- Jason Nolf vs. Julian Ramirez, Middleweight Championship
- Georgios Kougioumtsidis vs. Chance Marsteller, Cruiserweight
- Bryce Meredith vs. Movlid Khaybulaev, Welterweight
- Johnni DiJulius vs. Cayden Henschel, Featherweight Crossover Championship
- Haji Aliyev vs. Jacori Teemer, Lightweight
- Mugzy vs. Real Tarzann, Catchweight Crossover
Kurt Angle handles color commentary for the main event alongside play-by-play voice Shane Sparks, with Chael Sonnen on color and post-match interviews, Julianna Pena calling the undercard and Askren working as a remote analyst. McKenzie Mitchell is the ring announcer.
