RAF Moscow
| RAF Moscow: Chimaev vs. Woodley | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for RAF Moscow: Chimaev vs. Woodley | ||||
| Promotion | Real American Freestyle | |||
| Date | September 5, 2026 | |||
| Venue | VTB Arena | |||
| City | Moscow, Russia | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
RAF Moscow: Chimaev vs. Woodley is an upcoming freestyle wrestling event produced by the Real American Freestyle (RAF) promotion that is scheduled to take place on September 5, 2026, at the VTB Arena in Moscow, Russia.[1][2][3][4][5]
Background
[edit]This will mark the promotion's debut in Russia.
A catchweight bout between former UFC Middleweight Champion Khamzat Chimaev and former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley is scheduled to headline the event.[1]
In addition, three championship bouts are scheduled to take place:
- A RAF Light Heavyweight Championship rematch between current champion (also 2016 Olympic gold medalist) Kyle Snyder and 2024 Olympic gold medalist Akhmed Tazhudinov. Snyder defeated Tazhudinov at RAF 07 by criteria decision in March 2026 to claim the vacant title.[6] Snyder previously lost to Tazhudinov at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the semi-finals as well as the 2023 World Wrestling Championships.[7]
- A RAF Cruiserweight Championship rematch between champion Kyle Dake and Arsenii Dzhioev is scheduled for the event. They competed in February where Dake lost by decision at the 2026 Muhamet Malo Tournament.[8]
- A RAF Women's Middleweight Championship bout between current champion (also 2024 Olympic silver medalist) Kennedy Blades and Vusala Parfianovich.
A catchweight bout between Sharabutdin Magomedov and former Bellator Middleweight World Champion Alexander Shlemenko was scheduled for this event. However, Shlemenko withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by Neiman Gracie.[9][10]
Fight card
[edit]| Main card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Catchweight |  Khamzat Chimaev |
vs. |  Tyron Woodley |
||||
| Light Heavyweight |  Abdulrashid Sadulaev |
vs. | Zac Braunagel |
||||
| Heavyweight | Anatoly Malykhin |
vs. |  Pouya Rahmani |
||||
| Middleweight | Yusuf Raisov |
vs. | Marif Piraev |
||||
| Cruiserweight | Zahid Valencia |
vs. | Ibragim Kadiev |
||||
| Middleweight | Jordan Burroughs |
vs. | Magomed Kurbanaliev |
||||
| Light Heavyweight | Bo Nickal |
vs. | Shirvani Muradov |
||||
| Catchweight | Jason Nolf |
vs. | Ismail Khaniev |
||||
| Featherweight | Vito Arujau |
vs. | Soslan Ramonov |
||||
| Light Heavyweight | Kyle Snyder (c) |
vs. | Akhmed Tazhudinov |
[a] | |||
| Women's Middleweight | Kennedy Blades (c) |
vs. | Vusala Parfianovich |
[b] | |||
| Catchweight | Sharabutdin Magomedov |
vs. |  Neiman Gracie |
||||
| Cruiserweight | Kyle Dake (c) |
vs. |  Arsenii Dzhioev |
[c] | |||
- ↑ For the RAF Light Heavyweight Championship.
- ↑ For the RAF Women's Middleweight Championship.
- ↑ For the RAF Light Cruiserweight Championship.
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]
References
[edit]- 1 2 Harvey Leonard (2026-07-30). "Khamzat Chimaev's return against former UFC champion set to headline RAF Moscow". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Mike Bohn (2026-07-30). "Khamzat Chimaev vs. Tyron Woodley headlines RAF Moscow in Russia". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Brett Okamoto (2026-07-30). "Chimaev to wrestle Woodley in Sept. 5 RAF event in Moscow". espn.com. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Jesse Holland (2026-07-30). "Khamzat Chimaev vs. Tyron Woodley booked for RAF on Sept. 5 in Moscow". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Alex Pattle (2026-07-30). "Khamzat Chimaev's next bout official as he faces former UFC champion in Russian homecoming". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Richard Immel (2026-03-29). "Snyder edges Tazhudinov in battle of Olympic champions at RAF 07; Dake, Blades, Hendrickson retain belts". themat.com. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
- ↑ Damon Martin (2026-03-29). "Olympic champion Kyle Snyder has no interest in facing UFC fighters in RAF: 'I want to wrestle the best guys'". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2026-08-05.
- ↑ David Gerhart (2026-02-25). "Lee rolls to gold at Muhamet Malo Ranking Series; U.S. finishes day one with six medals". themat.com. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ Oscar Nascimento (2026-08-16). "Shlemenko out of Sept. 5 Moscow bout vs. Shara Bullet". agentmma.com. Retrieved 2026-08-18.
- ↑ Sourav Chakraborty (2026-08-25). "Shara Bullet vs. Neiman Gracie booked for grappling contest". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2026-08-25.
- ↑ Real American Freestyle (2026-07-30). "RAF Moscow: Chimaev vs. Woodley". realamericanfreestyle.com. Retrieved 2026-07-30.