Overview
- Covington publicly challenged Usman to meet in Real American Freestyle to close out their rivalry on the wrestling mats.
- He framed the offer as conditional on Usman not getting the UFC welterweight title bout he is pursuing against Islam Makhachev.
- Usman has recently said he is not on the same page with the UFC about that title push, which Covington argues makes his proposal viable.
- Covington enters the pitch off a 12-0 technical fall over Luke Rockhold at RAF 5 and new partner-investor ties to RAF-related ventures.
- Usman leads their UFC series 2-0 (2019 TKO, 2021 decision), results Covington disputes, and the proposed RAF match has not been accepted.