Retired Burns targets Covington rivalry in RAF wrestling after post-MMA life begins

Gilbert Burns has set his sights on Colby Covington as a potential freestyle wrestling opponent in RAF, the grappling promotion that has attracted a growing roster of current and former UFC talent, after the Brazilian confirmed he is open to competing on the mats in his post-MMA career.

Burns, who officially retired from MMA earlier this year before submitting Horlando Monteiro in just over a minute at his UFC BJJ debut this past June, spoke to MMA Fighting at UFC White House radio row and made clear that wrestling is firmly on his radar. “My wrestling is there, you know?” Burns said. “It sucks that my last couple of fights I couldn’t show a lot of my wrestling, my grappling, but I’ve always been training, I’ve always been improving. For sure I’d do wrestling.”

When listing potential RAF opponents, Burns kept returning to Covington — a fighter he repeatedly called out during his UFC career without ever securing the matchup. “Arman [Tsarukyan], Colby [Covington] is over there. Everyone’s there. Finally [put my hands on Covington], right? That would be a good one. RAF, I’ll do the wrestling. Let’s do it.”

Covington is one of RAF’s most active competitors, holding a 4-0 record in the promotion with wins over Luke Rockhold, Dillon Danis, Chris Weidman, and Arman Tsarukyan, the last of which earned him a belt. He is scheduled to face Belal Muhammad in the main event of RAF 13 on September 19.

Burns also mentioned former teammate Khamzat Chimaev as a possible name, though he noted Chimaev — who made his RAF debut with a win over Dillon Danis and is set to face Tyron Woodley on September 5 — is “huge right now.” Chimaev weighed in at over 203 pounds for his RAF debut.

Beyond the mats, Burns said life since retirement has been “busier than I thought,” with the former welterweight title contender now running his own gym in Florida and managing fighters. He also offered his take on the evolving grappling landscape, arguing that no-gi formats have grown because they are more accessible to casual viewers. “People are not going to stop to see a freaking 10-minute match with the gi,” he said, adding that the main technical distinction in modern no-gi competition is the increased role of leg locks.