Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is already set to return to action – on the mats.
Dvalishvili takes on Marlon Moraes at RAF Abu Dhabi on Nov. 14, the promotion announced Wednesday morning. The event will take place at Etihad Arena and will stream live on Fox Nation.
Dvalishvili and Moraes have competed against each other before in MMA, with Dvalishvili winning by second-round TKO at UFC 266 in Septembr 2021.
Dvalishvili is fresh off his loss to bantamweight champion Petr Yan at UFC 333 less than two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi. He will compete on the RAF mats in the same arena as he looks to rebound from his recent loss to Henry Cejudo at RAF 12. Prior to that, Dvalishvili beat Cejudo at RAF Georgia and Frankie Edgar at RAF 09.
Moraes
will make his RAF debut. The former UFC bantamweight title challenger retired from MMA in 2023 but returned in August when he picked up his first win in almost seven years at LMC 2 in Brazil. Moraes joined the Coral Springs (Fla.) Police Department in 2024.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Merab Dvalishvili meets former UFC title challenger at RAF Abu Dhabi
