Arman Tsarukyan meets Dillon Danis for inaugural RAF middleweight crossover title

Khamzat Chimaev faces UFC Hall of Famer Robbie Lawler in the co-main event of RAF 14 in Las Vegas on Friday 23 October, with Lawler making his RAF debut.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Wed 21 Oct, 15:48 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Arman Tsarukyan and Dillon Danis will wrestle for RAF's first middleweight crossover championship when they headline RAF 14 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Friday 23 October. The belt has never been held, so the winner becomes the promotion's first champion at the weight.

Tsarukyan, 30, is 7-1 in RAF and sits third in its first crossover pound-for-pound rankings. His only defeat came against Colby Covington at RAF 11 in July, when Covington took the cruiserweight crossover title. His RAF wins include victories over Urijah Faber, Tony Ferguson, Lance Palmer and Georgio Poullas.

Danis, 33, has lost both of his RAF matches, 14-4 to Covington at RAF 07 in March and 10-0 to Khamzat Chimaev at RAF 10 in June. He also withdrew from his MMA fight with Mike Perry, set for 29 August, roughly 48 hours beforehand after an arm laceration. The title match was first scheduled for 3 October before moving to 23 October, and no public reason for the change has been confirmed.

Tsarukyan arrives fresh from a knockout of Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331, after which he turned his attention to UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. He said at the post-fight press conference: “He never says my name, so he’s scared.” He remains booked for two RAF matches: Danis on Friday, then a catchweight match against Neiman Gracie at RAF Abu Dhabi on 14 November.

Chimaev, the former UFC middleweight champion, is 3-0 in RAF and meets Lawler in a catchweight crossover match. He is due to face Covington for the cruiserweight title on 14 November. Lawler, 44, last fought in 2023 and was an all-state high school wrestler in Iowa.

Elsewhere on the 12-bout card, Lucia Yepez defends at strawweight against Sarah Hildebrandt, and Ridge Lovett faces Jordan Oliver for the lightweight championship. Jordan Burroughs and Vito Arujau also compete. The line-up reflects RAF's listing as of 21 October, and the bout order may change.

In this story

Arman Tsarukyan Khamzat Chimaev Colby Covington Mauricio Ruffy Justin Gaethje