Khamzat Chimaev and Tyron Woodley are booked for the RAF Moscow main event on Sept. 5, putting Chimaev opposite the former UFC welterweight champion in a catchweight wrestling match in Russia.
Real American Freestyle lists the match as the main event on its Moscow page, with Chimaev representing Allstars Training Center and Woodley listed out of American Top Team Evolution. The show is set to stream live on Fox Nation in the United States, with international details still to come.
RAF’s announcement kept the matchup direct and left the ticket note for later:
“Khamzat Chimaev returns to headline RAF MOSCOW against former MMA champion Tyron Woodley.
KHAMZAT CHIMAEV.
TYRON WOODLEY.
RAF MOSCOW.
SEPTEMBER 5.Tickets coming soon. Join the presale list at the link in bio.”
The date gives Woodley a tight turnaround if his Aug. 22 RAF 12 match with Joaquin Buckley stays in place. Chimaev already has one RAF appearance on his 2026 calendar after he pinned Dillon Danis in the first period at RAF 10, a result followed by a post-match brawl with Danis and his team.
RAF’s official video from Chimaev’s last match is below:
Why The Match Has Real Wrestling History
Chimaev is 15-1 in MMA, with six knockouts, six submissions, and three decision wins on his pro record. His UFC rise included the 10-day Fight Island double in 2020, a 17-second knockout of Gerald Meerschaert, the bloody Gilbert Burns fight, a first-round face-crank submission over Robert Whittaker, and a 2025 title win over Dricus Du Plessis before Sean Strickland handed him his first MMA loss by split decision at UFC 328.
His wrestling base is the strongest hook here. Chimaev won Swedish freestyle national titles before his UFC run, and RAF’s own event page lists him at 32 with Chechen Republic, Russia as his hometown. That gives the Moscow show a cleaner hook than a random crossover booking: Chimaev is not just a cage fighter trying a one-off crossover stop, he is a wrestler walking back into his original game.
Woodley brings the older, heavier career book. The 44-year-old former UFC welterweight champion is 19-7-1 in MMA, won the UFC title by knocking out Robbie Lawler at UFC 201, retained it through the Stephen Thompson draw, then defended against Thompson, Demian Maia, and Darren Till before losing the belt to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235.
Before the UFC belt, Woodley was a Missouri wrestler with NCAA Division I All-American finishes in 2003 and 2005, plus a Big 12 title in 2003. RAF also lists his hometown as Ferguson, Missouri, which matters because his scheduled Buckley match in Cleveland already brings him back through the St. Louis wrestling pipeline before the Moscow headliner.
The booking lands during a packed RAF stretch. MiddleEasy has tracked Chimaev’s first-period fall over Dillon Danis, his reaction to the RAF 10 brawl, and Gable Steveson’s RAF 12 return after his UFC 329 knockout debut. Chimaev vs. Woodley now gives RAF a name-heavy Moscow main event between a current-era mauler and a former UFC champion whose wrestling credentials predate his title reign.
