SportsCatch
EN

Robbie Lawler ends retirement to face Khamzat Chimaev in RAF 14 wrestling co-main

Former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler returns from a 2023 retirement to face Khamzat Chimaev in a catchweight wrestling match at Real American Freestyle 14 on October 23 in Las Vegas.

1 min read
Robbie Lawler ends retirement to face Khamzat Chimaev in RAF 14 wrestling co-main
Share

Former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler will come out of retirement to face Khamzat Chimaev in a catchweight wrestling co-main event at Real American Freestyle 14 on October 23 at Fontainebleau in Las Vegas. The bout marks Lawler’s RAF debut and his first competitive appearance since he retired from the UFC in 2023.

Chimaev, known as “Borz”, has been building a notable wrestling record inside RAF since losing the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland this past May. He has since defeated Dillon Danis, Tyron Woodley and Gilbert Burns — all via pinfall or technical fall — and now steps up to face one of the most decorated welterweights in UFC history.

Lawler held the UFC welterweight title and compiled a Hall of Fame career defined by his durability and finishing power. His decision to compete again, even in a wrestling format, represents a significant return for a fighter who had appeared done with competition entirely.

The RAF 14 card is headlined by Arman Tsarukyan against Dillon Danis, while Michael Page also features on the bill in his first outing since a controversial departure from the UFC. Page is set to take on Russian veteran Alexander Shlemenko.

Share
{# Sitewide native fullscreen interstitial — our own bet-CTA card blown up to a takeover (replaces the SDK overlay). The shared card animations + countdown load once, AFTER the interstitial markup, so the countdown script's first tick sees this card's node too (the in-read card, in
above, already exists). One include covers both surfaces. #}