Khamzat Chimaev vs Robbie Lawler Booked for RAF 14 in Las Vegas
Khamzat Chimaev will face former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at RAF 14 on Oct. 23 in Las Vegas.
Khamzat Chimaev and Robbie Lawler are set to clash at RAF 14 on Oct. 23 in Las Vegas, per MMA Mania. The catchweight wrestling bout adds another marquee name to what is shaping up as one of RAF's biggest cards of the year.
Chimaev has been rolling through the RAF circuit since transitioning to competitive wrestling. At RAF 13 in Miami, he dispatched former UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns via technical fall. Now he gets a former UFC welterweight champion in Lawler, though "Ruthless" has not competed since his final UFC bout and carries a considerable size disadvantage against the 185-pound Chimaev.
Lawler, 44, built his legend on wars with Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit during his title reign, but this will be his first competition outside the UFC. RAF's modified wrestling ruleset gives Chimaev a significant stylistic edge, and oddsmakers will likely reflect that.
The card also features a co-main event pitting Arman Tsarukyan against Dillon Danis, along with bouts involving Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hildebrandt, former Bellator star Michael "Venom" Page, and wrestling legends Jordan Burroughs and Vito Arujau.
RAF 14 streams exclusively on FOX Nation. Chimaev is also expected to headline an upcoming RAF event in Abu Dhabi as the promotion continues its international expansion.
Chimaev against Lawler is a great name on a poster and a rough night for Robbie. Khamzat is a 185-pound wrestling machine who just ran through Gilbert Burns by technical fall. Lawler is 44, has not competed since his last UFC fight, and is giving up real size. Under a modified wrestling ruleset, that is close to a walkover. If the odds come in heavy on Chimaev, they will be right.
That said, I live a few miles from where this is happening and I am going. The card is stacked. Tsarukyan versus Dillon Danis is going to be pure chaos, and Burroughs, Arujau and Hildebrandt are real wrestling royalty.
My one wish is that they stop feeding Chimaev retired strikers. Burns, then Lawler. Give me Khamzat against an actual elite wrestler and then we find out something.
