Belal Muhammad Reacts to 10-0 RAF 13 Loss, Refuses to Name Colby Covington

Q: After a humiliating 10-0 shutout on the mat, will Belal Muhammad seek ultimate revenge against Colby Covington inside the UFC Octagon?

Probably not in any immediate or realistic way. Muhammad’s loss to Covington at RAF 13 was emphatic: a 10-0 technical fall in a match billed as the closest substitute for the UFC fight fans never got. Covington controlled the action from the opening exchanges, scoring early with a four-point takedown and never allowing Muhammad back into the contest. A shutout under RAF rules is especially damaging because it reflects total control in position, pace, and scoring. Muhammad’s own response suggests regrouping rather than launching a fresh public campaign for an Octagon meeting. His Instagram post — “I’ll own it, learn from it, and get back to work” — avoided even naming Covington. That restraint matters, because before the match he had been openly hostile and had framed the wrestling bout as a chance to punish a rival. Afterward, there was no direct call for a UFC fight. The larger obstacle is practical, not emotional. The two never fought in the UFC despite years of bad blood, and the additional reporting indicates Covington had already been steering attention toward other opponents in RAF. He used his post-match platform to call out names such as Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley, and Khamzat Chimaev, not Muhammad. Muhammad may still want revenge, but the available evidence points away from an Octagon payoff. At this stage, the rivalry looks more likely to remain a one-sided wrestling result than finally become a UFC fight.

Q: With Colby Covington dominating MMA stars in freestyle wrestling, which of his newly targeted rivals will dare step onto the RAF mat next?

The most plausible next opponent is Khamzat Chimaev. That is the matchup with the strongest immediate momentum after RAF 13. Covington remained unbeaten in RAF and, after shutting out Belal Muhammad 10-0, publicly named several targets: Gilbert Burns, Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley and Chimaev. But Chimaev strengthened his case the same night by beating Burns in the co-main event by technical fall, improving to 3-0 in RAF, then openly saying he wanted Covington because “he has the belt.” Among the names Covington called out, Chimaev is the one with the clearest competitive and promotional logic. He is active, in form, and coming off another dominant crossover wrestling performance after also pinning Woodley in Moscow earlier this month. That makes him the most credible challenger for Covington’s RAF crossover title. Usman remains a high-interest possibility because of their long UFC history, and Covington has repeatedly said he wants that unfinished trilogy in any setting, including RAF. But there is no indication Usman has committed to an RAF match yet. Burns just lost to Chimaev, and Woodley was recently pinned by Chimaev, which weakens their immediate claims. So if the question is who will likely dare step onto the RAF mat next against Covington, Chimaev stands out as the frontrunner, with Usman the biggest-name alternative if RAF can make the business work.

3 articles · Updated · MMA Mania · Sep 19

Belal Muhammad said he would “own it, learn from it, and get back to work” after Friday’s one-sided RAF 13 main-event loss in Miami.
A 10-0 score underscored how thoroughly Colby Covington controlled the wrestling match, the closest fans were likely to get to a real fight between the longtime welterweight rivals.
Muhammad thanked RAF Wrestling, Chad Bronstein and Izzy Style Wrestling for the chance to compete in “a different arena,” but did not mention Covington by name.
The bout capped years of trash talk between two top welterweights who never met in the UFC Octagon, leaving Covington with the clear bragging rights from their mat showdown.