Two days after losing the UFC middleweight title on a split decision, after reportedly cutting 46 pounds and spending fight week in oxygen deprivation, Khamzat Chimaev signed for a catchweight wrestling main event against Dillon Danis at RAF 10 on June 13.

Take a moment.

Chimaev went into UFC 328 at the Prudential Center in Newark as the unbeatable narrative the UFC had spent years protecting. The promotion had built him into something close to invincible — undefeated, dominant, skipping weight classes, calling out whole divisions at once. Sean Strickland walked out with the belt, 48-47, 47-48, 48-47, a two-time middleweight champion. Chimaev reportedly cut 44 to 46 pounds to make 185 lbs. Reports from fight week put him in oxygen deprivation from the drain. He came out looking like it, and Strickland — the man Chimaev's camp had been dismissing for months — outworked him for five rounds. He wanted an immediate rematch. What he got instead: a wrestling card in St. Louis, 32 days later.

RAF 10 is June 13 at Chaifetz Arena, catchweight wrestling. No cage, no striking, no 46-pound cut. Two men on a wrestling mat — one of whom has been training with Olympic gold medalist Abdulrashid Sadulaev in pursuit of a UAE Olympic wrestling bid, one of whom has a history of being scheduled to compete and then not competing.

The math makes sense from Chimaev's side. Catchweight wrestling means he competes in the discipline he's been sharpening hardest, without the weight theater of making 185 when his body clearly has no interest in weighing 185. He's been public about the Olympics ambition, about training with Sadulaev, about wanting to represent UAE in wrestling. RAF gives him a competitive wrestling match with crossover attention and zero weight cut. Wrestling rewards the Chimaev who trains with Sadulaev, not the one who's been sweating in a sauna for three weeks. Whether that's the right priority 32 days after his first UFC loss is a question his team has answered for him.

About Dillon Danis.

Danis went 14-4 against Colby Covington at RAF 07. He was there. He lost, but he was there. Since then, Sports Illustrated counted roughly 60% of his scheduled fights ending before anyone sweated through warmups. Hype Brazil: Belal Vera stepped in on one day's notice after Danis pulled, which was his third straight cancellation at that point. A UFC booking with Belal Muhammad: killed when Danis's camp demanded a 15-week preparation window and the UFC said no. Tsarukyan at Hype FC: cancelled. December 2025 in Dubai: Danis cited injuries from a brawl involving Team Khabib at a UFC event. Kamaru Usman put it plainly in an interview earlier this year: "He doesn't show up."

The RAF exception stands. He showed at RAF 07, lost, left. One fight, one appearance. When RAF first booked him for that card, they publicly announced a backup opponent just in case, because booking Danis means planning for Danis. He showed up anyway and proved them wrong that time. Now RAF is booking him again. Presumably with the backup already written.

There's also the CJI 3 situation. Craig Jones has Danis headlining his $10 million main event — the card he funded with his own crypto wallet, the biggest prize pool independent grappling has ever promised, built around the premise that the only guy worth putting at the top of that card is someone whose Wikipedia page reads like a list of fights that didn't happen. CJI 3 has no date. RAF has June 13. So right now, Danis is the named main event for two promotions simultaneously. At his cancellation rate, both promoters are probably fine.

Chimaev is the right person to headline this if it goes off. He competed internationally before MMA and has been training with Sadulaev at a level that isn't UFC crossover flattery — this is the man who won Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling in 2018 and 2021. Danis trained under Garry Tonon, has submission grappling credentials, and has won grappling matches. But submission grappling and wrestling under wrestling-specific rules are different sports, and Chimaev's wrestling is operating at a different tier than what Danis has faced on a mat. If Danis shows up and this stays on the feet and in wrestling exchanges, it's not a competitive match. If Danis can pull guard and drag things toward a jiu-jitsu context, it gets more interesting. That scenario requires Chimaev to let it happen.

If Danis doesn't make it to St. Louis, RAF calls the backup. Chimaev gets mat time while his team works toward the Strickland rematch through UFC channels. The booking works for Chimaev either way.

RAF has spent two years putting UFC names on wrestling mats: Cejudo, Covington, Weidman, Dvalishvili, Steveson, Maroulis, Edgar. A former UFC middleweight champion, announced three days after losing his title, is the biggest name they've signed. The event works even if Danis bails. It's better if he doesn't.

June 13. Chaifetz Arena. Keep the backup plan warm.

This post was generated by AI. Sources are linked below. Follow @bjj-problems on YouTube for the weekly video digest.

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