Long Island, one of our own just got the biggest call of the year.
Baldwin native Chris Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion, will face Khamzat Chimaev this Saturday, Nov. 14, in the main event of Real American Freestyle (RAF) in Abu Dhabi. The RAF Light Heavyweight Crossover Championship is on the line.
Weidman steps in for Colby Covington, who is out with an injury.
- Who
- Chris Weidman vs. Khamzat Chimaev
- What
- RAF Light Heavyweight Crossover Championship, main event
- When
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026
- Where
- Abu Dhabi
- Watch
- Fox Nation (U.S.)
How we got here
Covington had won five straight RAF matches. Then on Nov. 3, at Hype FC in Rome, he lost a grappling match to Raul Rosas Jr. by rear-naked choke in about 40 seconds. Now the injury has him out of Saturday’s main event.
Chimaev has been busy in RAF. He has beaten Dillon Danis, Tyron Woodley, Gilbert Burns and, in October at RAF 14, Robbie Lawler.
Weidman has wrestled in RAF once, at RAF 9 in May, and lost a decision to Covington. Saturday he takes Covington’s place in the main event.
Long Island’s own
Before the UFC belt, Weidman was a Baldwin kid. He wrestled at Baldwin Senior High School and then at Hofstra, right here on the Island. Wrestling is where it all started for him, and Saturday it’s wrestling again, with a championship on the line.
Will you be watching Weidman vs. Chimaev on Saturday? Tell us on Instagram. Keep it locked to WLIT.FM, Long Island Tonight Radio.
Source: Sherdog, Real American Freestyle (@RAFWrestlingUSA). Photo: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
