Colby Covington talks all things Kamaru Usman, Dricus du Plessis and UFC ahead of RAF 11 matchup vs. Arman Tsarukyan

Colby Covington is back in action when he takes on Arman Tsarukyan at RAF 11 in Milwaukee on Saturday. That same night, his biggest career rival, Kamaru Usman, also makes his return at UFC OKC.

Covington and Usman had arguably the most notable, high-profile rivalry of the past decade at welterweight. In two classic fights, Usman ultimately came out victorious, but Covington battled to the fifth round in each appearance. While Covington is tasked with Tsarukyan, Usman will have to get through former middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis.

The fight marks only Usman's second time at middleweight. Having a vast familiarity with Usman, Covington believes Saturday will tell us a lot about the current state of the 39-year-old former welterweight king.

"It's tough to say. It could be just a cash grab. I guess we'll find out on Saturday night how much fight he has left in him. He was always a big welterweight," Covington told Uncrowned.

"He was always oversized for the division. That was his biggest strength. He was just so much bigger than everybody at welterweight. He was so strong, so big, but I don't know. He put up a great fight against Khamzat [Chimaev]. I think he should have won that fight, honestly. If it was five rounds, he would have won that fight, but he still did more damage in that fight. So, that's the guy that was regarded as the best middleweight on the planet. I think he's got a tougher matchup [now]."

Usman's Chimaev bout was his middleweight debut, which came on short notice in October 2023. In three rounds, Usman lost a majority decision before he rebounded with a dominant effort against Joaquin Buckley in June 2025. Du Plessis fought and lost the middleweight crown to Chimaev two months later and has been absent since.

Despite du Plessis also taking time away from competition, Covington still sees the younger, fresher former champion as too much.

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"Dricus is the one true King of Africa, and he's going to prove it this weekend," Covington said. "I think he's going to get it done and get his hand raised in convincing fashion. But I don't know. I don't like these guys staying around too late. I think you got to get in and get out when your time's there. When you pass your prime, a lot of injuries can happen. A lot of long-term damage can happen to your health. So, I wish them both the best and good health."

Covington, 38, has fully turned his attention to the RAF mats since he informed the UFC of his retirement in May. Undefeated in the freestyle wrestling promotion with three wins, Covington expects a fourth this weekend. Eventually, he hopes to get back that elusive victory over Usman.

"I've been begging for that match, man. I wanted that trilogy in the Octagon, RAF mat, in the side parking lot, somewhere. There's this unfinished business," Covington said. "They were showing the highlight in the UFC to promote this fight that he has this weekend, and they're showing the fight of the finishing sequence in our first fight, and it's just so f***ing funny, dude. Just all the punches are to the straight, direct spot in the back of my head. I'm intelligently defending myself on the ground with my hand there with a hand on the leg, trying to work up to a takedown, and [referee] Mark Goddard stops the fight. I mean, it's one of the most egregious, worst stoppages I've ever seen in the history of the sport."

The first order of business is to get through Tsarukyan, who has been surging unlike any other wrestler in RAF.

A top-ranked UFC lightweight contender, Tsarukyan has been a dominant force in RAF, becoming arguably the company's biggest star with a 7-0 record. He's been competing almost nonstop since the year began, staying as active as possible.

Covington isn't necessarily surprised to see the star power of Tsarukyan take off with his flashy lifestyle on social media. But that doesn't mean "Chaos" has been impressed by his opponent's performances.

"He's had a lot of handpicked opponents," Covington said. "Guys that aren't wrestlers, guys that are 30 years his senior, guys that are 30 pounds lighter than him. He's just been a bully out there and wrestling guys that he can intimidate. Now he's going to go up against a guy in 'Raw American Steel and Twisted Sex Appeal’ that's going to bring the match to him. I'm not going to back down. I'm not going to give an inch because I'm not intimidated by him. I'm better than him in every facet of combat sports. I'm going to show that Saturday night on the RAF mat here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, only on Fox Nation."

RAF has taken off quickly since its launch in late 2025. It wasn't until this year that Covington got involved, and not just as a wrestler. The three-time UFC welterweight title challenger is an investor in RAF, aiming to take it higher with each event.

Circling back to Chimaev, Covington was in attendance for the former middleweight champion's RAF debut last month. Taking on a recent foe of Covington's, Dillon Danis, Chimaev made quick work of the jiu-jitsu specialist. However, it was what happened after the match that garnered all the attention.

The match only lasted a matter of seconds before Chimaev scored the early victory. In the closing sequence, Danis gave up his back and applied a guillotine choke before the two were separated. Chimaev kicked the downed Danis, inciting a massive full-mat brawl between both parties.

Although multiple brawls ensued within the large-scale scuffle, Covington said no repercussions came of the incident and there were positives and negatives to it.

"You never want to put the fans or the kids or anybody in harm's way," Covington said. "So, you don't want to have too many of these melees, these scuffles.

"To a certain extent, they are good because they're going viral and they're getting the brand out there. We want RAF to be main stage and be on the world stage. So it's doing a good job of that. People globally are seeing RAF, and they're seeing this new promotion and company just rise up. There's a lot of drama, and people love drama. It's the drama show. What's the No. 1 thing on TV? Drama. So, to a certain aspect, I like it. On another aspect, we want to make sure that we're protecting the company and we're not going to open ourselves up to a lawsuit. I'm an investor in this company. I take a lot of pride in this company now. I want to see it rise up and be one of the top sporting events in the world. I want us to have a Super Bowl every year. We got our first anniversary coming up next month at Cleveland, Ohio. So that'll be a big one.

"We just want to keep building and keep growing this sport and helping it so the next generation of wrestlers can come here and make money and not have to do anything else," Covington continued. "They don't have to turn to MMA like myself. If there was a RAF when I was in high school and college, I would have never went to the UFC. I would have went to RAF. But, thankfully, RAF is here now, and we want to help grow the sport for the next generation of wrestlers."