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