Chimaev vs. Woodley in Moscow on September 5
Former UFC fighter Khamzat Chimaev will face former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley under freestyle wrestling rules at the RAF Moscow event.
Former UFC fighter Khamzat Chimaev will face former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley under freestyle wrestling rules at the RAF Moscow event.
The Real American Freestyle (RAF) promotion has officially confirmed that Khamzat Chimaev and Tyron Woodley will meet in the main event of RAF Moscow, scheduled for September 5, 2026. The duo will compete under freestyle wrestling rules, marking a return to his roots for Chimaev and a new challenge for Woodley after a storied MMA career.
As reported by UFC Live, the event will take place in Moscow, with U.S. viewers able to watch exclusively via the streaming platform FOX Nation. Information about international broadcast, including availability for Croatian audiences, has not yet been released. RAF has also announced that ticket sales will begin soon and has invited interested fans to sign up for the presale list.
For Chimaev, this will be his second appearance under the RAF banner. He made his debut in June 2026 at RAF 10, where he defeated Dillon Danis via pinfall in the first round. The match was not without controversy; according to reports from MMA Fighting and BJPenn, a brawl broke out after the fight involving members of both teams who stormed the cage. That chaotic aftermath cast a shadow over an otherwise dominant victory.
His new bout in Moscow is not directly linked to that incident but represents a planned return to the sport that forged him. As noted by MMA Mania, Chimaev is a three-time Swedish freestyle wrestling champion, providing clear context for why RAF is pushing him as its main attraction. RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein told MMA Fighting that Chimaev is expected to compete multiple times for the promotion by the end of the year.
On the other side, former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley also has a wrestling commitment before the Moscow spectacle. According to available information, Woodley is slated to make his RAF debut on August 22, 2026 at RAF 12, where he will face Joaquin Buckley. That appearance will serve as a warm-up of sorts before his clash with Chimaev in early September.
While both of Woodley's bouts are confirmed, the outcomes are, of course, still unknown. What is certain is that his showdown with Chimaev will be the centerpiece of the Moscow evening, bringing together two fighters with serious UFC pedigrees in a discipline that is the foundation of every mixed martial artist.
