Merab 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.
