Khamzat Chimaev to face Jorge Masvidal in submission-only ALF League 1 main event in Dubai

The 4 December match will be Masvidal's first competition since his 2024 boxing defeat by Nate Diaz, and it comes 20 days after Chimaev's RAF date with Colby Covington.

Khamzat Chimaev will face Jorge Masvidal in a submission-only match on 4 December, with the pair headlining ALF League 1 at The Agenda in Dubai, Bloody Elbow reported after ALF Grappling announced the match on Sunday.

It is the first event for the new league. Red Corner MMA said on social media that the show will feature a number of "household names", and ticket details are due to be announced soon.

Masvidal has not competed since losing to Nate Diaz in a boxing match in 2024. He retired from MMA in 2023 after a decision defeat by Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in Miami, where he was taken down four times and controlled for almost six minutes. Masvidal has two submission wins in 52 professional MMA fights, and has been teasing a UFC return by calling out Leon Edwards.

Chimaev has stayed busy on the wrestling mat since losing the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland in May, beating Dillon Danis, Tyron Woodley, Burns and Robbie Lawler in Real American Freestyle (RAF) matches. He stopped Lawler by technical fall in the first period at RAF 14 in Las Vegas.

He has another match first. Chimaev meets Colby Covington at RAF Abu Dhabi at Etihad Arena on Saturday 14 November, with Covington's cruiserweight crossover title on the line, 20 days before the Dubai date.

READ NEXTColby Covington faces Raul Rosas Jr as Danis, beaten by Arman Tsarukyan, withdrawsRead the next story →

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