The matchup Real American Freestyle had built its Middle East debut around is off. Covington, the promotion’s cruiserweight crossover champion, has pulled out with an injury, according to The National, and will not meet Chimaev at Etihad Arena on Yas Island on Saturday.

Weidman, 42, has agreed to take the bout on short notice. The headline match is no longer for Covington’s cruiserweight crossover belt but for the inaugural RAF Light Heavyweight Crossover Championship.

Weidman takes the match on five days’ notice

Weidman is a two-time NCAA Division I All-American and, in the cage, a former UFC middleweight champion best known for ending Anderson Silva’s title reign in 2013.

“Wrestling has always been a huge part of my life, and I love competing against the best,” Weidman said in a statement carried by The National.

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The American is walking into a very specific test. Chimaev carries a 27-0 freestyle wrestling record into Saturday and will be chasing a 28th straight win in the discipline, The National reported.

A main event built around Covington’s weight problem

Covington had spent his camp wrestling bigger partners to simulate the 9 kg (20 lb), even 11 kg (25 lb) advantage Chimaev brings on the mat.

“The way I’ve been training is I’ve been wrestling with bigger guys because he has a lot of weight on me,” he told Arab News last week, adding that he was “taking no days off” and wanted the win “more than I’ve wanted any win in my whole entire career.”

Days later he was out. RAF has not disclosed the nature of the injury.

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What RAF Abu Dhabi still looks like

Real American Freestyle is a new professional league that pitches itself as unscripted freestyle wrestling, mixing Olympic champions, world medalists, NCAA standouts and MMA crossovers. Abu Dhabi is its Middle East debut, under a five-year deal with the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi and the UAE Wrestling Federation, following previous RAF events in Tbilisi and Moscow.

Chimaev, a former UFC middleweight champion who lost the 185-pound title to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 earlier in 2026, remains the local draw. He has represented the UAE since 2023.

The supporting bouts are unchanged: Arman Tsarukyan faces Neiman Gracie at catchweight, Umar Nurmagomedov meets Uriah Faber, Kyle Dake defends his RAF cruiserweight title against Alp Arslan Begenjov, and Kennedy Blades defends the women’s middleweight belt against Bella Mir.

Doors open at Etihad Arena on Saturday, 14 November, with the card scheduled to start at 6:30pm local time. Tickets start at Dh95.

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