Merab Dvalishvili to face ex-UFC lightweight champ at RAF 9

After his first scheduled Real American Freestyle appearance fell
through, Merab
Dvalishvili has been booked to face another accomplished former

UFC champ on May 30.

The organization announced on Monday that Dvalishvili will face
Frankie
Edgar at RAF 9 on May 30 in Dallas. Dvalishvili was originally
supposed to meet Henry
Cejudo in the RAF 8 headliner before Cejudo suffered an injury
just prior to their match. RAF 9 is headlined by a matchup between
Gable
Steveson and Alexander
Romanov, while Colby
Covington will square off against Chris
Weidman in the co-main event. The event airs on Fox Nation.

Dvalishvili, who is known for his relentless pace and grappling in
the UFC, relinquished the bantamweight crown to Petr Yan in
the UFC 323 headliner this past December. “The Machine” is expected
to be granted a rematch against the Russian champion in the near
future.

Edgar wrestled collegiately at Clarion University before
transitioning to an MMA career. In addition to capturing
lightweight gold, “The Answer” also challenged for the 145-pound
title on three occasions before ending his UFC tenure at
bantamweight. Edgar was scheduled to return to combat sports
against Jimmie
Rivera at BKFC 82 last October but the bout was scrapped after
Edgar was
not cleared to compete.

‘The Machine’ vs. ‘The Answer’