Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dillon Danis Booked for RAF10 Main Event on June 13
RAF 10 in St. Louis lines up Khamzat Chimaev against Dillon Danis in the main event on June 13 at Chaifetz Arena. The matchup marks Chimaev’s debut for Real American Freestyle, a promotion that runs unscripted freestyle wrestling events with MMA and grappling stars. Both fighters enter at catchweight, with the card streaming live on Fox Nation.
RAF 10 Announces Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dillon Danis for St. Louis Card
Chimaev heads into this bout days after his first pro loss. He dropped the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland via split decision at UFC 328 in Newark on May 9. Before that defeat, Chimaev captured the belt by beating Dricus du Plessis via unanimous decision at UFC 319 last August.
The 32-year-old Chechen-Swede built his name on wrestling roots, he took bronze at junior nationals, then won Swedish freestyle titles at welterweight and middleweight in 2018. He holds a brown belt in BJJ and went 15-0 in MMA with nine first-round finishes before the Strickland fight.
Danis brings grappling credentials from a different path. The 32-year-old New Jersey native earned his BJJ black belt at 21 under Marcelo Garcia after starting training at 15. He claimed the 2016 Pan No-Gi Championship and notched two submission wins in Bellator MMA, his last in 2019. Danis won the inaugural Misfits MMA light heavyweight title last August with a 15-second submission over Warren Spencer. In RAF, he debuted at RAF 7 in March, losing to Colby Covington by 14-4 technical fall.
Tensions between the two trace back years. Danis has a record of clashing with fighters from Chimaev’s Chechen-Dagestani circle, including a 2018 backstage scuffle with Islam Makhachev’s camp after UFC 229. UFC CEO Dana White banned Danis from events after a 2025 altercation at UFC 322 involving Makhachev’s team. Danis once offered to step in for Chimaev during a UFC pullout, adding to the mix. Fans already poke at Chimaev for picking Danis post-UFC loss, which could amp up trash talk on social media.
RAF 10 stacks other draws underneath. Tony Ferguson faces Arman Tsarukyan at middleweight in the co-main, with Rizabek Aitmukhan vs. Hayden Zillmer at light heavyweight, Lance Palmer vs. Aaron Pico at lightweight, and Haji Aliyev vs. Sebastian Rivera also at lightweight. Chimaev signed with RAF last month amid its growth year, pulling in names fans follow from MMA to the mats. This headliner fits the promotion’s push into bigger venues like Chaifetz Arena, capacity around 10,000.
The fight tests Chimaev’s freestyle base against Danis’s BJJ edge in a pure wrestling format. Chimaev’s national titles give him throws and control, while Danis relies on ground chains from his tournament run.
