Khamzat Chimaev is including one other lane to his fight sports activities schedule. Actual American Freestyle introduced reside throughout RAF08 on April 18 in Philadelphia that the undefeated UFC middleweight champion has signed with the promotion, along with his debut opponent and occasion nonetheless to be confirmed within the coming weeks.
The announcement was made throughout the RAF08 broadcast on the Liacouras Middle, the newest signal that RAF remains to be leaning onerous into crossover names from MMA and wrestling to develop its viewers.
RAF Provides UFC Middleweight Champion Khamzat Chimaev To Rising Roster
The transfer is sensible. Chimaev’s sport has lengthy been tied to strain wrestling, management and bodily dominance, and that type has helped him attain a 15-0 document in MMA whereas additionally capturing the UFC middleweight title. He’s the reigning champion, and his first UFC title protection is scheduled for Might 9 in opposition to former champion Sean Strickland at UFC 328 in Newark.
For RAF, that is one other headline signing at a time when the promotion is making an attempt to ascertain itself as a touchdown spot for elite names exterior the same old wrestling pipeline. The corporate is the primary unscripted skilled freestyle wrestling league, and its current occasion rollout reveals an aggressive schedule, with RAF08 held on April 18 in Philadelphia, RAF09 set for Might 30 in Dallas, and RAF10 scheduled for June 13 in St. Louis.
RAF’s official occasion listings additionally verify Gable Steveson’s debut for RAF09 in opposition to Alexandr Romanov, whereas exterior occasion protection has reported that former UFC champion Chris Weidman can also be booked for his first RAF look on that very same Dallas card.
Chimaev isn’t a star signing with no mat background. Earlier than his rise in MMA, he constructed actual freestyle credentials in Sweden after transferring there, and revealed information throughout main profiles credit score him with Swedish nationwide titles in 2016, 2017 and 2018 at totally different weights.
Chimaev’s RAF debut has not been dated, and the promotion has solely mentioned extra particulars are coming. Since he’s already booked to defend his UFC belt on Might 9, any fast wrestling look would doubtless come after that task, except RAF chooses to put him deeper into its 2026 calendar.
AF has already connected Arman Tsarukyan, Urijah Faber, Colby Covington, Gable Steveson, Chris Weidman and different recognized names to its reveals, and Chimaev is the largest energetic UFC champion added to that listing up to now.
