Colby Covington says he was not cut by the UFC and is still under contract with the promotion, even as he shifts his focus toward Real American Freestyle.
During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Covington addressed the recent report that he informed the UFC he was retiring. Covington said the move came after a productive meeting with UFC executive Hunter Campbell and was done to clear the way for bigger RAF wrestling matches against active UFC fighters.
Watch the clip below.
Colby Covington talks retiring from the UFC. Says now there are no limitations to who he can wrestle in RAF.#HelwaniShow pic.twitter.com/AnY0p7PD2w
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 27, 2026
“Yeah, so I had a good meeting with Hunter and we just talked about the future and we talked about everything that’s been done and all the business we’ve done and it was a productive meeting,” Covington said. “I just said that I’m very thankful for everything that the UFC has allowed me to be able to do in my life and all the blessings that I’ve received from them. But this is the next step in my combat sports career, is to join wrestling full-time. My first true love and passion.”
Covington’s wrestling background is not a side note. He was a junior college national champion at Iowa Central, a two-time Pac-10 champion at Oregon State, an NCAA Division I All-American, and later won a no-gi grappling world title before becoming UFC interim welterweight champion.
“I started wrestling when I was in diapers and I was a little kid and it was family business, to go into the wrestling world,” Covington said. “So now I can get back to doing what I love the most, which is wrestling. This is my first love.”
Covington Says UFC Agreement Lets Him Chase RAF Matches With Active UFC Fighters
Covington said Real American Freestyle needed the UFC side handled so matchups could be made without restrictions.
“It’s amazing what Chad Bronstein’s done with Real American Freestyle,” Covington said. “This was just the proverbial red tape that needed to be done to be able to clear up the biggest and best matches in RAF. So there’s no limitations to who I can wrestle.”
Covington then named the UFC fighters he wants in wrestling.
“I want to wrestle everybody,” Covington said. “I want to wrestle Arman. I want to wrestle Khamzat. I want to wrestle Marty Usman. We have unfinished business. We need to finish this trilogy. I want to wrestle all these UFC guys.”
Covington already owns RAF wins over Luke Rockhold and Dillon Danis. He is scheduled to face Chris Weidman at RAF 09 on May 30, 2026, after Weidman vs. Covington was added to the May 30 card. Weidman is a former UFC middleweight champion, UFC Hall of Famer, and two-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at Hofstra.
“I can’t get too ahead of myself,” Covington said. “This weekend I have a tough competitor in front of me with Chris Weidman. But it was just a formality, and Hunter blessed me. He gave me his blessing and it’s all good. It’s all love.”
Covington said he did not need a formal UFC farewell package.
“My thing though is I didn’t need one of these crazy retirement packages, Ariel,” Covington said. “I didn’t need, oh, this is my life retirement package, look at me and look what I did, oh blah, blah, blah. I didn’t need that. It wasn’t about that. I’m thankful to all the fans. I’m thankful to the great journalists like yourself and I’m just moving on to bigger and better things.”
Covington later said the Miami meeting with Campbell was about freeing up RAF matchups, not ending his UFC connection.
“Me and Hunter, we had a great meeting in Miami,” Covington said. “He was in town for the Miami show and we just started talking about everything and I just told him that I wanted all these big matchups freed up for me in Real American Freestyle. I didn’t want anything to hold me up in getting the big matchups in RAF with all the active UFC fighters.”
He then rejected the idea that the UFC released him.
“I wasn’t let go, Ariel,” Covington said. “I’m still a UFC fighter. I’ll always be a UFC fighter. If I come back to fight again, it will be in the UFC.”
When the discussion turned to whether Covington is still tied to the UFC for MMA, he gave the cleanest answer of the clip.
“Yeah, I’m still a UFC fighter,” Covington said. “I’m still under contract with the UFC. All still good with the UFC. I’m very thankful for everything they did for me.”
Covington also thanked UFC leadership and staff, then brought the point back to wrestling.
“Just from the bottom of my heart, I’m very thankful to everybody at UFC for what they’ve done to me,” Covington said. “But now it’s about getting back to my true love and passion and not letting me be held back from wrestling the biggest and best matchups in Real American Freestyle.”
Covington’s MMA record stands at 17-5. He held the interim UFC welterweight title and fought three times for undisputed welterweight gold, including two title fights with Kamaru Usman. He said he has not fully ruled out fighting again.
“You know, it’s 50-50,” Covington said. “I don’t think I have because I know I have a lot left in the tank. I know there’s a lot of good miles still left on the tread. But I don’t know. I can’t predict the future. Only God knows that.”
Covington said RAF gives wrestling the platform he wished existed earlier in his career.
“This is my calling,” Covington said. “I feel like this was my calling. If they would have had a platform like this with Real American Freestyle, I never would have been in the UFC.”
He also said he has money in the project.
“I’m an investor too,” Covington said. “I invested in Real American Freestyle with my hard-earned money. I love this vision that Chad Bronstein has. I believe in it.”
Covington closed by selling the live RAF experience.
“Seeing is believing, my brother,” Covington said. “Seeing is believing. And when you feel the electricity of a Real American Freestyle crowd, you’ll understand why it’s the fastest growing sport in the world.”
Covington’s next booked stop is Weidman. After that, the targets are clear: Arman Tsarukyan, Khamzat Chimaev, and Kamaru Usman.
