Dvalishvili and Moraes renew UFC rivalry on the RAF Abu Dhabi wrestling mats

Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and Marlon Moraes will renew their rivalry at RAF Abu Dhabi on November 14, the promotion announced Wednesday — this time on the wrestling mats rather than in the octagon. The pair first met at UFC 266 in 2021, when Dvalishvili survived an early scare before scoring a comeback knockout in the second round.

Dvalishvili arrives at the event having carved out one of the most decorated runs in the bantamweight division in recent years. After his win over Moraes, he went on to capture the UFC title in 2024 and made three consecutive successful defenses before losing to Petr Yan at UFC 323. A trilogy bout with Yan followed, but Dvalishvili again fell short on the scorecards after five rounds.

November 14 will be Dvalishvili’s fourth appearance for RAF. He defeated former UFC champions Frankie Edgar and Henry Cejudo in his first two outings for the promotion before dropping a rematch to Cejudo this past August.

For Moraes, the event marks his RAF debut. The former World Series of Fighting champion and long-time UFC contender retired from MMA in 2023, but returned to competition in August with a unanimous decision win over Maximiliano Perez at a regional show in São Paulo, Brazil.

The card is headlined by Khamzat Chimaev vs. Colby Covington, with Arman Tsarukyan facing Neiman Gracie in the co-main event.