Khamzat Chimaev will headline Real American Freestyle’s first event in the Middle East on Saturday, November 14 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. RAF announced the card Monday as part of a five-year partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) and the UAE Wrestling Federation.
The promotion says Chimaev’s opponent will be revealed in the coming weeks. The former UFC middleweight champion may have already spoiled the surprise.
At the RAF 13 pre-fight press conference, Chimaev named Colby Covington as his next opponent before catching himself. “Colby is not in the UFC right now,” Chimaev said. “So, I think we are gonna rest on it in Abu Dhabi, and maybe I announced it too early. Sorry, guys.”
RAF hasn’t confirmed the match, but both men did their part on Friday. Chimaev beat Gilbert Burns by 15-4 technical fall in the co-main event, then told commentator Chael Sonnen he’d welcome a shot at Covington’s RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship.
Covington answered in the main event, shutting out Belal Muhammad 10-0 to retain the belt and move to 5-0 in RAF. He has since said he’s open to facing Chimaev next.
Home Crowd, Stacked Card
Chimaev is a naturalized UAE citizen who represents the country internationally, and Abu Dhabi puts RAF’s biggest crossover star in front of a home crowd. “Abu Dhabi’s going to be crazy,” Chimaev told MMA Fighting. “Arena will be five minutes from me, from my house.”
He’s 3-0 in the league with wins over Dillon Danis, Tyron Woodley and Burns, all since losing his UFC title to Sean Strickland in May. “The concrete thing is that Chimaev will be the main event in Abu Dhabi,” RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein said.
Arman Tsarukyan, Henry Cejudo, Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Snyder and Abdulrashid Sadulaev are also set to compete, with matchups still to be announced. Tsarukyan is coming off a first-round knockout of Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 on Saturday and is scheduled to face Danis in the RAF 14 main event in October.
He also has history with Covington. Tsarukyan lost 5-3 to Covington at RAF 11 in July, the match that made Covington the first crossover champion in league history.
RAF’s Third Stop Abroad
Abu Dhabi will be RAF’s third international event in its first year, following Tbilisi, Georgia, and Moscow, where the league sold out a show in September. “From day one, our ambition has been to bring RAF to the world’s great sports markets, and there is no better place for this next chapter than Abu Dhabi,” Bronstein said in the announcement.
The show lands on the same date as UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden, headlined by Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit for the UFC heavyweight title. Fans can register interest for RAF Abu Dhabi tickets through Visit Abu Dhabi.
