Even with a middleweight title defense on the horizon, Khamzat Chimaev is making moves that could put him at odds with the UFC hierarchy. In a surprising move, the Chechen signed a deal to join the Real American Freestyle (RAF), a move made official by the promotion last night during the RAF 8 broadcast.
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While Chimaev adds another commitment to his schedule, the real question is how the notoriously controlling UFC brass will react to their champion moonlighting for another promotion. Well, Dana White has weighed in on the update following UFC Winnipeg in Canada.
“Good for them,” White replied. “I hope it works out for them.”
The 31-year-old is scheduled to face Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on May 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark. Meanwhile, an announcement during RAF 08 on Saturday revealed that Chimaev could potentially compete again—likely at RAF 10 on June 13 in St. Louis—after his UFC title defense.
“Chimaev’s standout wrestling base has allowed him to physically dominate opponents en route to a 15-0 record in MMA,” RAF’s official statement read. “He previously competed in freestyle wrestling in Sweden and was undefeated across two Swedish Freestyle National Championships.
“The signing continues to leave no doubt that RAF is the premier destination for the world’s best combat athletes to compete in previously impossible matchups. The league looks forward to upcoming events: RAF09 on May 30th in Dallas, featuring both Gable Steveson and Chris Weidman’s RAF debut, and RAF10 in St. Louis on June 13th.”
Dana White when asked about RAF using a lot of UFC talent for their events: Good for them. I hope it works out for them.
Although the two promotions don’t have a partnership in place, they do have a working relationship. The UFC often allows its fighters to compete in the promotion to keep skills sharp, compete more frequently between MMA bouts, and increase their brand visibility. Chimaev joins fighters like Arman Tsarukyan and Colby Covington, who have been competing in the RAF.
As for Chimaev, although he has a full-fledged MMA career, he started wrestling after he moved to Sweden. While there, he competed in numerous tournaments and put together an impressive resume. But instead of chasing international titles in wrestling, he decided to pursue MMA, which eventually led him to the UFC.
Since joining the promotion, Khamzat Chimaev has become a dominant force within the UFC. He remains undefeated and picked up his first title by defeating Dricus Du Plessis last year. But his new contract with the RAF brings up an interesting question: who will he end up fighting on the wrestling mat?
Khamzat Chimaev already has a potential opponent
Even in the rare chance that Chimaev loses to Sean Strickland, he will have to fight on the mat. And for that fight, Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder has challenged Chimaev and welcomes a fight with open arms.
“I’ve seen clips of him wrestling, and I think he’s pretty good,” Snyder told MMA Fighting. “He’s similar to Arman [Tsarukyan] where you watch him wrestle, and you’re like, wow, pretty good. They know what they’re doing. So I think that’s an interesting matchup.”
Notably, Snyder defended his RAF Light Heavyweight Championship against Rizabek Aitmukhan in the co-main event of RAF 08. This was Snyder’s second RAF appearance. He won the vacant light heavyweight title at RAF 07 by beating Akhmed Tazhudinov 3-3 on criteria.
With an Olympic champion already calling him out, Khamzat Chimaev’s venture into wrestling promises a high-stakes debut, but first, he must get through his title defense against Sean Strickland.
