Real American Freestyle has been building toward this for a year, and Friday night in Coral Gables it finally has a card that can stand on its own without an MMA promotion attached to it.
RAF 13 goes down at the Watsco Center on the campus of the University of Miami. Twelve matches, 8 p.m. ET, streaming on Fox Nation.
Covington vs Muhammad Is A Grudge Match
The main event puts Colby Covington’s RAF cruiserweight crossover championship on the line against Belal Muhammad. Covington is 4-0 in RAF competition. Muhammad is 1-1.
These two have been circling each other for years in the UFC welterweight division, trading insults in a feud that never resolved cleanly inside a cage. Putting them on a wrestling mat is arguably a better way to settle it, because it strips away everything except the thing they both actually built their careers on.
Covington’s entire identity as a fighter came from his Oregon State wrestling background. Muhammad’s title run was built on grinding control. Neither man has an excuse available here.
The Co-Main Is The Rematch Fans Wanted
Khamzat Chimaev meets Gilbert Burns in a rematch of their 2022 UFC bout, one of the best fights of that decade. Chimaev is 2-0 in RAF. Burns is making his promotional debut.
Chimaev arrives in a different position than he occupied a year ago. He is a former UFC middleweight champion who lost the belt to Sean Strickland by split decision at UFC 328 in May, the first defeat of his MMA career. He has been openly discussing a December return or a break to address injuries.
A freestyle wrestling match against an elite grappler is a strange way to spend that window. It is also exactly the kind of decision Chimaev makes.
Why This Format Works
Real American Freestyle has found something real by taking recognizable fighters and putting them in a sport where the rules are simple and the outcomes are fast. Chimaev’s RAF debut against Dillon Danis in June ended in 45 seconds and a brawl. Arman Tsarukyan tech-falled Tony Ferguson 10-0 on the same card.
Those are not artistic triumphs. They are compelling television, and the promotion has leaned into it without pretending to be something it isn’t.
What To Expect
Covington keeps the belt. His RAF record is not an accident and the format suits him better than it suits a fighter who built his game on striking.
Chimaev handles Burns. He is the more physically imposing athlete and he has already competed twice under these rules. Burns is a black belt with world-class grappling credentials, but freestyle wrestling is its own language and Chimaev speaks it more fluently.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.