Merab Dvalishvili, Marlon Moraes Book Wrestling Rematch for RAF Abu Dhabi

Merab Dvalishvili and Marlon Moraes are running it back, but the second meeting will not involve four-ounce gloves.

Real American Freestyle announced Wednesday that the former UFC bantamweight champion and former UFC title challenger will meet in a catchweight crossover wrestling match at RAF Abu Dhabi on November 14. The card takes place at Etihad Arena on Yas Island.

The booking comes three weeks after Dvalishvili's unanimous-decision loss to Petr Yan at UFC 333 in the same arena. It also sends him back to the man who helped launch his climb through the UFC rankings five years ago.

A rematch with different rules

Dvalishvili and Moraes first fought at UFC 266 in September 2021. Moraes badly hurt him in the opening round, but Dvalishvili survived, reversed the momentum and forced a stoppage with ground strikes at 4:25 of Round 2. The result is listed on the UFC's official event page.

That history gives the rematch some bite, even though this is a wrestling contest rather than a second MMA fight. Moraes will not have the striking threat that nearly ended their first meeting. Dvalishvili will not have ground-and-pound available after a takedown. The match strips their rivalry down to control, position and pace.

RAF listed it as a catchweight crossover matchup but did not announce a numerical weight limit in Wednesday's release.

Dvalishvili returns to the mat

This will be Dvalishvili's fourth RAF appearance. He beat Frankie Edgar 12-1 in his promotional debut, then erased an 8-0 deficit to defeat Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo 11-8 in July. Cejudo won their August rematch, leaving Dvalishvili 2-1 under the RAF banner.

The short turnaround is hard to miss. Dvalishvili went five rounds with Yan on October 24 and will compete again 21 days later. Wrestling removes the damage associated with another MMA fight, but it does not make the assignment casual. Dvalishvili is stepping back into a scored contest against an experienced opponent almost immediately after a championship bout.

"I love wrestling, I love competing, and I'm ready for whoever is standing across from me," Dvalishvili said in the event announcement carried by Emirates News Agency. "I'm coming to win and put on a great show for the fans on November 14."

Moraes gets a new kind of return

Moraes will make his RAF debut. The former World Series of Fighting bantamweight champion stepped away from MMA in 2023, then returned in August with a unanimous-decision victory over Maximiliano Perez in Brazil.

His resume includes five WSOF title defenses and a UFC title challenge, but freestyle wrestling is a different test. Dvalishvili has already shown that his relentless takedown game translates to RAF's scoring. Moraes has to solve that pace without the knees, kicks and counters that made him one of the most dangerous bantamweights of his era.

RAF Abu Dhabi is scheduled to be the promotion's first event in the Middle East. Khamzat Chimaev and Colby Covington headline the card in a cruiserweight crossover championship match, while Arman Tsarukyan faces Neiman Gracie in the co-main event. RAF's announcement says the event will stream on Fox Nation in the United States.