Covington-Muhammad and Dvalishvili-Cejudo 2 Land on RAF's Wrestling Mats

The grappling promotion RAF just turned a post-fight brawl and an old grudge into two headline acts. RAF confirmed Saturday that Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo will run it back in a wrestling rematch at RAF 12 on Aug. 22 in Cleveland, while Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad settle their beef at RAF 13 on Sept. 19 in Miami.

Both bouts carry hardware. Covington puts his RAF Cruiserweight Crossover Championship on the line against Muhammad, while Dvalishvili and Cejudo fight for the inaugural Lightweight Crossover title. The Crossover belts exist so ex-UFC names can chase gold without running into RAF's genuine mat killers like Kyle Snyder, Kyle Dake and David Carr.

Covington claimed that first Crossover crown by edging UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan — the division's current No. 2 at 23-3 — at RAF 11 earlier this month. The celebration didn't last. Muhammad crashed the post-event press conference and sparked a melee, and now that confrontation has a booking. RAF co-founder Chad Bronstein originally wanted the fight in August but bumped it to September.

Pedigree on Both Mats

Every fighter in these two main events has worn UFC gold. Covington took interim welterweight silver in 2018. Muhammad rode a five-year unbeaten run to a brief undisputed welterweight reign before dropping a decision to Gabriel Bonfim in his last cage outing. Dvalishvili defended the bantamweight belt three straight times. Cejudo is a two-division champ, having held both the flyweight and bantamweight straps.

The wrestling matters here. Covington and Muhammad's UFC careers were built on top-position control rather than knockout power — Covington's 17-5 slate shows just three KOs against five submissions, so a mat-only ruleset actually suits both men more than you'd think.

The Dvalishvili-Cejudo rematch is the more intriguing sequel. It lands just six weeks after Dvalishvili's come-from-behind win over the Olympic gold medalist, and it's the third combat-sports meeting between them overall — Dvalishvili also owns a UFC decision over Cejudo from February 2024. That's a lopsided history Cejudo will be desperate to correct.

RAF 13 also adds a catchweight sideshow between influencers Larry Wheels and Mike 'The Real Tarzann' Holston. Both RAF 12 and RAF 13 stream live on Fox Nation.