Covington Defends RAF Title Against Muhammad

Colby Covington puts his RAF cruiserweight crossover championship on the line against Belal Muhammad on September 18, giving two longtime UFC rivals a meeting they never had inside the Octagon. Their wrestling match headlines RAF 13 at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida, with the main card scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET on FOX Nation.

Covington arrives with a 4-0 record in Real American Freestyle and a belt won against Arman Tsarukyan. Muhammad, a former undisputed UFC welterweight champion, is coming off a victory over Ben Askren in the same promotion. Both have already had a chance to adapt their wrestling to RAF competition; this time, they also have a personal rivalry to settle.

That history gives the main event an appeal beyond the championship. Covington and Muhammad spent years competing in the UFC’s welterweight division without being matched together. Now they will finally share a competitive setting, although the contest will answer a wrestling question rather than decide which man would win an MMA fight.

Covington brings a belt and an unbeaten RAF record

Covington earned the inaugural cruiserweight crossover title at RAF 11 in Milwaukee on July 18. The promotion’s official results list a 5-2 victory over Tsarukyan in the main event. That result supplied something more concrete than another callout: a championship Muhammad can now take from him.

The crossover designation matters. RAF introduced those titles to give athletes crossing over from MMA their own championship contests alongside its established wrestling competitors. Covington is defending that crossover belt, so the matchup should be understood in the context of RAF’s separate title structure.

Muhammad also left RAF 11 with a win, defeating Askren in the co-main event. Their appearances on the same card set up the next chapter: Muhammad confronted Covington at the post-event press conference, and their exchange escalated into a scuffle. The confrontation helped turn an old disagreement between welterweights into a matchup RAF could actually stage.

The two men therefore reach Friday’s main event through different positions in the same title picture. Covington has a championship and an unbeaten promotional record to protect. Muhammad has an opportunity to follow his win over Askren by beating a rival who has repeatedly drawn his attention.

Muhammad wants to settle the rivalry on the mat

Speaking ahead of the event, Muhammad drew a sharp distinction between his respect for Askren and his feelings toward Covington. He described wrestling Askren as an honor, while making clear that this opponent brings a different kind of motivation. Muhammad said he had waited a long time for a chance to compete against Covington.

He also emphasized that he intends to handle the contest as a professional. That is a useful distinction after the July confrontation: the result will be decided through wrestling, regardless of how personal the buildup has become. Muhammad’s comments set the tone for his approach, but they do not establish how the match will unfold.

For viewers following the event, three details frame the main attraction:

• Covington’s cruiserweight crossover championship is at stake.
• The contest is a wrestling match between two former UFC welterweight titleholders.
• The advertised 8 p.m. ET start is for the main card, rather than a guaranteed starting time for Covington and Muhammad.

RAF 13 also pairs Khamzat Chimaev with Gilbert Burns in the co-main event, while Luke Rockhold faces Joe Pyfer elsewhere on the card. Those bouts add more familiar MMA names to the broadcast, but Covington and Muhammad occupy the headline slot.

The central question is whether Muhammad can interrupt Covington’s unbeaten RAF run and leave with his belt. A successful defense would give Covington another result to support his move into wrestling. A win for Muhammad would put a championship behind a rivalry that, until now, has produced considerably more words than competition.