Belal Muhammad claims Colby Covington has restraining order against him ahead of RAF 13: ‘Police will be there’

Belal Muhammad has claimed that Colby Covington has obtained a restraining order against him ahead of their upcoming wrestling match at RAF 13 on Friday in Coral Gables, Florida. The two welterweight rivals have feuded for years within the UFC but never squared off inside the octagon; now they are set to compete on the wrestling mats at Watco Center.

Muhammad and Covington's animosity escalated after a press conference confrontation last July, when Muhammad defeated fellow former UFC fighter Ben Askren in his RAF debut. According to Muhammad, the restraining order is a precaution to prevent physical altercations outside the sanctioned match itself. "We'll just say that we're getting orders that if we hit him or something like that happens, that police will be there waiting for it to happen," Muhammad told MMA Fighting, adding that he intends to remain professional during the bout.

Despite the legal constraints limiting the confrontation to wrestling, Muhammad expressed confidence he will dominate Covington on the mat. He characterized Covington as a coward who relied on security during their earlier encounter, and predicted that wrestling alone will be sufficient to best his rival. "It's not going to be a fight, but wrestling inside the trenches, it is a fight," Muhammad said. "When you've got a coward on one side, he's going to wither." While Muhammad acknowledged he would have preferred to face Covington in a UFC bout where a wider array of techniques would be permitted, he guaranteed the outcome will still favor him once they meet on the RAF wrestling stage.