Dvalishvili is the latest
UFC star to cross over the Real American Freestyle.
The organization announced on Tuesday that Dvalishvili will
headline RAF 8 in Philadelphia on April 18. His opponent will be
revealed at a later date. RAF 8 will stream exclusively on Fox
Nation.
“One of MMA’s most dominant champions is coming to wrestling’s new
main stage,” read a post on social media.
A Growing Talent Pool
RAF, an unscripted professional wrestling league, has already
enlisted the services of former and current UFC stars like Henry
Cejudo, Arman
Tsarukyan, Bo Nickal,
Urijah
Faber, Yoel Romero,
Colby
Covington and Michael
Chandler, to name a few. The promotion’s upcoming event, RAF 6,
takes place on Saturday in Tempe, Arizona and is headlined by a
clash between Cejudo and Faber.
Over the course of a 14-bout winning streak from 2018 to 2025,
Dvalishvili established himself as the UFC’s top bantamweight
talent. “The Machine” captured 135-pound gold with a third-round
submission of Sean
O’Malley at UFC 306 before defending the crown three straight
times to begin his 2025 campaign. His reign ended in a unanimous
decision defeat against Petr Yan at
UFC 323 this past December.
One of MMA’s most dominant champions is
coming to wrestling’s new main stage.Merab Dvalishvili headlines RAF08 in Philadelphia. Opponent
dropping soon.Stream exclusively on @foxnation.
Ticket pre-sale starts tomorrow: pic.twitter.com/vSu5fvBojV— Real American Freestyle (@RAFWrestlingUSA)
February 24, 2026