Dvalishvili faces Cejudo in Georgia as RAF holds first international event on July 11

Merab Dvalishvili will fight Henry Cejudo at Tbilisi Arena in Georgia on July 11, headlining RAF’s first international event. The bout marks a rematch of their UFC 298 meeting in February 2024, when Dvalishvili defeated Cejudo by unanimous decision to earn a UFC bantamweight title shot.

The pairing was originally scheduled for RAF 8 in April, but a late injury forced Cejudo out of that card. Now rescheduled, the fight gives Dvalishvili the rare opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd.

“This is dream come true,” Dvalishvili told MMA Fighting. “It’s been a long time. We’ve been trying to bring UFC to Georgia, but this almost feels the same by bringing RAF to Georgia. This is great for my country. Wrestling is a big sport in my country. … So I’m sure my country will be excited. It’s going to be a good opportunity for other athletes for me, for Givi [Matcharashvili]… to represent our country, in our country. This is huge. Really huge.”

The co-main event features a clash between Olympic gold medalists Kyle Snyder and Abdulrashid Sadulaev. Also on the card, Georgian wrestler Givi Matcharashvili takes on two-time NCAA champion Zach Elam, while Geno Petriashvili faces former Dan Hodge Trophy winner and American Top Team wrestling coach Steve Mocco.

Arman Tsarukyan is also confirmed for the event, though his opponent has yet to be announced. Tsarukyan is set to headline the following week at RAF 11 against Colby Covington, making RAF Georgia his seventh consecutive appearance for the promotion.

For RAF co-founders Chad Bronstein and Izzy Martinez, the international expansion was a stated ambition from the organisation’s inception. “Izzy and I share the same message: We wanted to do this since day one,” Bronstein said. “We wanted to go international, but I think for us, it’s cool to hear the importance of wrestling in Georgia and, again, with RAF, our goal is not to push our American wrestling to Georgia, it’s actually developing RAF Georgia. So I think for us it’s a sport of respect and we want to respect cultures and go to the countries that love wrestling.”

Dvalishvili arrives at the event in form, having earned a tech fall win over Frankie Edgar at RAF 9 in Dallas this past weekend. Cejudo, meanwhile, made his promotional debut at RAF 6 in February, defeating Urijah Faber by tech fall.