Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis will meet for a third time at RAF 15 in Chicago on Nov. 28, only this time on the wrestling mat instead of inside a cage. Real American Freestyle announced the matchup, and the event poster bills it as a “cruiserweight crossover.”
RAF’s announcement tags the bout “COWBOY VS SHOWTIME” and bills both men as MMA legends. It is the RAF debut for both former UFC fighters, according to MMA Fighting.
Pettis holds a 2-0 edge from their UFC fights. He knocked Cerrone out in the first round of their first meeting at UFC on FOX 6 in Chicago in January 2013, finishing him with a body kick and punches at 2:35. They rematched at UFC 249 in May 2020, and Pettis won again by unanimous decision, a result MMA Fighting called “hotly contested.”
Cerrone has not fought since his last UFC appearance in 2022, which closed out his run with the promotion on a seven-fight winless streak, MMA Fighting reported. Pettis last fought in MMA for the PFL in 2022 and has since worked in boxing and Karate Combat. His most recent outing, in 2024, was a unanimous decision win over Chris Avila on the undercard of the Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal boxing event.
RAF 15 follows RAF 14 on Oct. 23 in Las Vegas and a Nov. 14 event in Abu Dhabi, where Umar Nurmagomedov makes his RAF debut against Urijah Faber.
RAF 15 takes place at NOW Arena and airs live on Fox Nation, with the start set for 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET). The announcement did not include the rest of the card.
