Henry Cejudo Pins Merab Dvalishvili in 36 Seconds at RAF 12
Henry Cejudo pinned Merab Dvalishvili in 36 seconds on Saturday and left RAF 12 as Real American Freestyle’s first lightweight crossover champion. The 2008 Olympic gold medalist and former two-division UFC titleholder finally beat a rival who had won both of their previous meetings.
The rematch headlined RAF’s one-year anniversary card at Rocket Arena in Cleveland and streamed on FOX Nation. Cejudo entered 1-1 in the promotion, while Dvalishvili arrived 2-0.
Their first wrestling match, on July 11 at RAF Georgia in Tbilisi, still hung over the Cleveland main event. Cejudo led 8-0 in the opening period and sat one takedown from a technical fall before Dvalishvili scored 11 unanswered points for an 11-8 decision.
The MMA meeting went Dvalishvili’s way as well. He won a unanimous decision at UFC 298 in February 2024 in a bantamweight title-eliminator.
Cleveland never reached that kind of distance. Cejudo shot a low single-leg at the opening whistle, scored a four-point takedown, and closed the space before Dvalishvili could start a scramble.
Dvalishvili tried to spin free. Cejudo reversed, stayed on top, and put both of the former UFC bantamweight champion’s shoulders on the mat.
The referee called the pin at 36 seconds of the first period, ending the Henry Cejudo vs Merab Dvalishvili rematch before it could turn into another long fight. Both men moved to 2-1 in RAF.
Cejudo celebrated with a Georgian dance on the mat. The finish left no time for the late rally that beat him in Tbilisi.
“Merab is a machine,” Cejudo said afterward.
“I’ve been fighting for 13 years on my feet and I took the ‘L’ from him. I knew that he wasn’t necessarily scrambling … obviously I got the pin. Cody Garbrandt, you’re next b*tch.”
The Garbrandt callout pointed toward a possible first title defense against another former UFC bantamweight champion. Cejudo later said the Georgia loss was about conditioning, and he spent a month and a half training in Amsterdam, N.Y., at Mule Fitness after it.
“I went out to Amsterdam, N.Y. in upstate New York, and I just dedicated myself for a whole month and a half,” he said at the post-event press conference. “After getting beat up by Merab in Georgia. I’ve just got to stay disciplined and dedicated.”
He also said he wants the wrestling rubber match.
“I’ve been wrestling since I was a kid but that doesn’t mean anything,” Cejudo said. “It’s humbling but I’m excited for the trilogy.”
Dvalishvili asked for that third match as well.
“Absolutely. I love challenges,” Dvalishvili said. “Henry Cejudo called me out and I said yes. He’s an Olympic champion for a reason. He beat me today. Let’s go for a trilogy in wrestling.”
A fourth meeting across MMA and RAF is not next on Dvalishvili’s schedule. His UFC business comes first.
The former champion challenges Petr Yan for the bantamweight title in the UFC 333 co-main event on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Yan took the belt from Dvalishvili by unanimous decision at UFC 323 in December 2025, ending a 14-fight winning streak and setting up the trilogy after they split their first two fights.
Cejudo retired from the UFC after a December 2025 loss to Payton Talbott and has stayed busy on the wrestling mat. He is scheduled to box Deen the Great at a Misfits Boxing card in Miami on Sept. 26, and he has already named Garbrandt as the opponent he wants for the RAF title.
Saturday’s pin evened the RAF series at 1-1 and gave Cejudo his first win in three meetings with Dvalishvili. What happens next on the mat depends on whether RAF books Garbrandt, a wrestling trilogy, or both after Cejudo’s September boxing date and Dvalishvili’s October title fight in Abu Dhabi.