Real American Freestyle Launches in Abu Dhabi with Star-Studded Event

Real American Freestyle is going global with intent, not just ambition.

The fast-rising combat sports promotion has announced RAF Abu Dhabi, the first event in a newly signed five-year deal that will bring the brand to Etihad Arena in the UAE capital, starting Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026.

The plan is clear: arrive with star power and stay long enough to matter.

Expected to headline the debut card is former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, one of the most volatile, talked-about names in modern MMA. Alongside him, RAF is lining up fellow UFC standouts Arman Tsarukyan and Henry Cejudo, plus a trio of amateur wrestling giants: Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Snyder, and Abdulrashid Sadulaev. That mix alone tells you what RAF wants this to be — a collision point for elite MMA names and world-class wrestlers under one roof, in one of combat sports’ most lucrative markets.

“From day one, our ambition has been to bring RAF to the world's great sports markets, and there is no better place for this next chapter than Abu Dhabi,” said Chad Bronstein, CEO and Co-Founder of RAF. He called Abu Dhabi “one of the premier destinations for combat sports,” pointing to the city’s vision and infrastructure as the backbone for events that “resonate globally.”

The five-year agreement, Bronstein stressed, isn’t a one-off spectacle. The goal is to make RAF Abu Dhabi a signature annual stop — something athletes circle on the calendar and fans in the region claim as their own.

Abu Dhabi, of course, knows this game well. The emirate has spent the last decade turning itself into a staple of the global combat sports circuit, hosting major MMA cards and grappling events while building a reputation for big purses, slick production, and packed arenas.

“Abu Dhabi has established a strong reputation as a global destination for major sporting events, and we are pleased to welcome Real American Freestyle as a new addition to our world class events calendar,” said H.E. Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General for Tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi. He framed the five-year partnership as part of a broader push to attract more high-profile sporting properties, giving local fans and international visitors “the opportunity to experience elite combat sports in a world-class setting.”

The message from Abu Dhabi is simple: this is not a test run. Al Geziry spoke of making RAF Abu Dhabi a fixture on the sporting calendar, a recurring anchor rather than a touring curiosity.

Before the promotion touches down in the Gulf, though, there is serious business to handle in the United States.

Next up for RAF is RAF 14 on Oct. 3 at the BleauLive Theater inside Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, Nevada — a card that underlines just how aggressively the promotion is booking its crossover talent.

At the top of that bill, Arman Tsarukyan faces off with combat sports provocateur Dillon Danis for RAF’s crossover championship. It is pure contrast: a relentless, no-nonsense contender against a man who has turned controversy into currency. The stakes are obvious. Tsarukyan can cement himself as one of RAF’s defining faces; Danis gets a chance to prove there is more to his name than noise.

The rest of the lineup reads like a manifesto.

• Former Bellator champion Alexander Shlemenko meets Michael Page at cruiserweight in a clash of styles and eras.
• Nathan Tomasello takes on Roman Bravo-Young at bantamweight in a bout that should thrill wrestling purists.
• Nick Suriano meets Dylan Ragusin at featherweight in another high-level grappling showcase.
• And Jordan Burroughs, one of the most decorated American wrestlers of his generation, faces Michael Caliendo at middleweight.

Those matchups are not random. They are RAF’s calling card: blend recognizable MMA names with elite wrestlers, drop them into major venues, and sell a product that sits in the growing space between traditional wrestling and cage fighting.

Abu Dhabi is the next stage for that experiment, only this time the stakes stretch far beyond a single night. With Chimaev projected to front the 2026 Etihad Arena card and a five-year runway locked in, RAF is betting that the city that embraced global MMA will do the same for its brand of freestyle combat.

If the Las Vegas show delivers and the Abu Dhabi debut lands the way both sides expect, RAF won’t just be touring. It will be putting down roots in one of combat sports’ most coveted addresses.