Umar Nurmagomedov Ditches MMA for Freestyle vs. Urijah Faber

Umar Nurmagomedov is trading the cage for the wrestling mat. The former UFC bantamweight title challenger has signed with Real American Freestyle and will make his promotional debut against Urijah Faber on Nov. 14 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, officials confirmed.

It's a hard pivot for the 30-year-old Russian, who's coming off a stunning knockout loss to Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Shanghai in August. Before that stumble, Umar had reeled off back-to-back decision wins over Mario Bautista and ex-flyweight king Deiveson Figueiredo — a rebound run that followed his razor-thin decision defeat to then-champ Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 in January 2025.

Faber, meanwhile, is still chasing his first RAF win. The California Kid has gone 0-2 under the freestyle banner, both losses coming by tech fall against decorated wrestlers: Henry Cejudo headlined RAF 6 back in February, then Arman Tsarukyan handled him at RAF 8 two months later. For context, Tsarukyan sits at #2 in the UFC lightweight rankings with a 24-3 record, so Faber hasn't exactly drawn soft outs on the mats.

A Different Kind of Test

This is where it gets interesting for Umar. He's never faced a freestyle format competitively, and he's stepping in against a fighter who, despite the recent losses, has real wrestling miles on him. The whole appeal of RAF is seeing cage names reveal what they can actually do once striking and submissions are stripped out.

The Nurmagomedov pedigree sets expectations sky-high — the family name is synonymous with grappling dominance — but a tech fall loss here would sting far more than any decision setback in the Octagon. Faber, for his part, has nothing left to prove and everything to gain by snapping a two-fight skid against the biggest name he's drawn yet.

The Bigger Card

RAF Abu Dhabi is topped by a cruiserweight crossover title fight, with Colby Covington defending against former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev. Covington racked up a quick 10 points to beat Belal Muhammad at RAF 13 — not a bad showing for a guy whose last cage outing was a doctor's-stoppage TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley.

Whether Umar's bet pays off, the event gives RAF another marquee name to build around. For a promotion still establishing itself, landing a fighter who came within a split decision of UFC gold is a statement signing.