Merab Dvalishvili’s next outing is not going to happen within the UFC and as an alternative, he’ll take his talents to the Real American Freestyle wrestling mats.
The Georgian machine last fought under the UFC banner this past December when his impressive bantamweight title reign got here to an end against Petr Yan.
Following that fight, the 35-year-old revealed his plan to instantly have a rematch with ‘No Mercy’, but his plans were placed on halt as Yan underwent surgery on his back, putting him out of motion for several months.
And as an alternative of continuous to attend to return to the Octagon, Merab Dvalishvili will compete on the wrestling mats with Real American Freestyle.
Dvalishvili set to headline RAF08 event
On February 28, RAF returns for RAF06, headlined by former UFC champion Henry Cejudo, who will tackle Urijah Faber.
Also competing on the cardboard is top UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan, who steps onto the RAF mats again to tackle Georgio Poullas.
With the promotion continuing their theme of keeping UFC stars lively, they’ve announced that the previous UFC bantamweight champion will make his debut on the RAF mats.
This Tuesday in a press release, the promotion announced that ‘The Machine’ will headline RAF08, which is scheduled to happen on April 18 on the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.
“Merab is elite, relentless, and rooted in wrestling,” RAF CEO, Chad Bronstein said.
“When athletes of his caliber step onto the RAF stage, it reinforces what this league represents – the skilled home for the game’s best.”
Dvalishvili doesn’t yet have an opponent, with the promotion set to offer more information in the approaching weeks.
When will Merab Dvalishvili return to the UFC and who will he fight?
Originally, Dvalishvili was seemingly targeting a return on the UFC White House event which is scheduled to happen on June 14.
Despite that, due to Yan’s ongoing recovery, it’s unclear when the Russian champion will return to motion.
Nevertheless, it is probably going that at any time when Yan does return, his first title defense will likely happen against Dvalishvili, settling their rivalry with a trilogy.