Merab Dvalishvili is heading to the wrestling mats.
Promotional officials confirmed to MMA Fighting that the former UFC bantamweight champion is set to make his Real American Freestyle debut at RAF 8. The event takes place April 18 at Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, streaming exclusively on FOX Nation.
An opponent for Dvalishvili, along with other matchups for the event, will be announced in the coming weeks, per the promotion.
“Philadelphia is a fight city, and RAF belongs on the biggest stages,” RAF CEO Chad Bronstein said. “Merab is elite, relentless, and rooted in wrestling. When athletes of his caliber step onto the RAF stage, it reinforces what this league represents — the professional home for the sport’s best.”
Dvalishvili gets back to work after a very busy 2025 campaign in the UFC. “The Machine” successfully defended the UFC’s 135-pound title three times — defeating Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley and Cory Sandhagen — over the first 10 months of the year, but ran into Petr Yan at UFC 323 this past December, losing a unanimous decision and the championship in the process.
Before Dvalishvili returns to the octagon, he’ll compete in a freestyle wrestling match under the RAF banner, which is set for their sixth event this Saturday in Tempe, Ariz., headlined by Henry Cejudo vs. Urijah Faber.
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