Merab Dvalishvili Beats Henry Cejudo Again in RAF 12 Grappling Rematch

Merab Dvalishvili didn't need a plot twist. The Georgian ran it back with Henry Cejudo at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Saturday night, headlining RAF 12 for the promotion's crossover championship, and the story played out much like the first chapter. This was the second time in as many months the two former UFC titleholders had shared the RAF mat, after Dvalishvili took a unanimous decision over Cejudo at RAF Georgia.

That earlier meeting set the terms of the sequel. Cejudo, an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, wanted the mat to be his domain. Dvalishvili, whose cardio and volume defined his UFC bantamweight title run, had already answered that question once. RAF 12 gave him the chance to close the book on it.

Two Champions, One Grip Fight

The RAF format strips away the striking that made both men household names and forces the pure grappling exchange. On paper, that should favor a two-time Olympian in Cejudo. In practice, Dvalishvili's relentless pace has always been the great equalizer, the same trait that carried him through his UFC bantamweight reign.

The rematch was the centerpiece of a stacked card. Three more RAF titles were on the line across the main portion of the night, giving the Cleveland crowd plenty of hardware to argue over long after the main event wrapped.

Burroughs vs Brady Steals a Chunk of the Spotlight

The co-main was its own event. Jordan Burroughs, one of the most decorated freestyle wrestlers America has ever produced, took a catchweight assignment against UFC welterweight Sean Brady. Brady is one of the best grapplers in his division, so pitting him against an Olympic champion on a wrestling-first platform was exactly the kind of crossover RAF is built to sell.

It's a matchup that would never happen inside the octagon, which is precisely the point. RAF keeps landing name UFC fighters onto its mats, and the results ripple back into the mainstream conversation the moment the show ends.

The Ripple Effect

The Dvalishvili-Cejudo rivalry hasn't stayed quiet, either. The RAF Georgia meeting spilled over into a broader feud, with Umar Nurmagomedov weighing in publicly after an incident involving Dvalishvili at the event. That's the kind of heat RAF thrives on, and a second Dvalishvili win over Cejudo only pours fuel on it.

RAF's pipeline of UFC talent isn't slowing down. Arman Tsarukyan, the UFC's No. 2 lightweight at 23-3 with a submission of Dan Hooker in his last outing, is booked against Dillon Danis for a title clash at RAF 14. Tsarukyan returns to the UFC in September before circling back to the mat in October, a scheduling juggle that shows how seriously fighters are taking the crossover.

The interest is spreading down the roster. Gilbert Burns, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt sitting at 22-10 in the UFC, has floated the idea of wrestling Colby Covington under the RAF banner. Covington, 17-5 and coming off a doctor's stoppage loss to Joaquin Buckley, would make for exactly the grudge-match fodder the promotion loves.

For Cejudo, a second loss on the mat to the same opponent is a tough pill for a man whose entire brand is built on wrestling pedigree. He'll want a third crack or a fresh name to reset the narrative. Dvalishvili, meanwhile, has now handled the Olympian twice and can point back to his UFC title run as proof the elite-level grappling wasn't a fluke.

RAF keeps proving there's an appetite for high-level combat that lives outside the cage. With Burroughs testing himself against Brady, Tsarukyan and Danis on deck for RAF 14, and Michael Page set to wrestle Alexander Shlemenko in his own debut, the crossover experiment is only getting bigger. Dvalishvili just made sure the headline stayed his.