Arman Tsarukyan will face Neiman Gracie in a catchweight crossover match at RAF Abu Dhabi on Nov. 14, Real American Freestyle announced Thursday. The match will be contested under freestyle wrestling rules at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.
It will be Tsarukyan’s second RAF match in about three weeks. According to MMA Fighting, he is still scheduled to headline RAF 14 against Dillon Danis on Oct. 23. The UFC’s top-ranked lightweight contender goes into Abu Dhabi at 7-1 in RAF with five technical falls, per The National, and his one loss came against Colby Covington.
MMA Fighting wrote that his first-round finish of Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 in September likely locked up a lightweight title shot, which is why the RAF schedule keeps drawing attention. We noted that when Tsarukyan was still booked twice in RAF before that shot.
Gracie, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist and three-time World BJJ bronze medallist, is 13-6 as a pro MMA fighter and was a longtime Bellator standout. It is his second RAF appearance. He lost an 11-3 decision to Shara Magomedov at RAF Moscow in September.
Blades Defends Against Mir
Kennedy Blades will put her RAF Women’s Middleweight Championship on the line against Bella Mir. Blades has recorded six technical falls in RAF without giving up a point, and her resume includes a 2024 Olympic silver medal and a 2025 world bronze. Mir, the daughter of former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, is a 2026 NCAA champion with a 4-1 pro MMA record. She makes a quick turnaround, with a match against Hope Chase set for RAF 14.
Kyle Dake will defend his cruiserweight title against Alp Arslan Begenjov, and The National also lists Zabit Magomedsharipov against Giga Chikadze at welterweight and Jordan Burroughs against Azamat Nurykau at middleweight. They join Khamzat Chimaev’s main event against Colby Covington for the cruiserweight crossover title.
