Khamzat Chimaev beats Chris Weidman 10-0 to win RAF crossover title in Abu Dhabi

Khamzat Chimaev beat fellow former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman 10-0 on Saturday to win the RAF light heavyweight crossover championship in the main event of RAF Abu Dhabi at Etihad Arena, according to Yahoo! Sports. The bout ended in a tech fall, which is declared when one wrestler builds a 10-point lead.

Chimaev takes the title

Collar tie-ups dominated the first period, with few takedown attempts from either man. Chimaev then hit a dip-under trip to put Weidman belly-down for three points, and ran him out of bounds for two more.

In the second period a wild shot from Chimaev scored and became a fast scramble, leaving him up by nine. Weidman's corner challenged the call and lost the review, which gave Chimaev a further point and the title.

It was Chimaev's fourth straight win under the RAF banner. Weidman, a UFC Hall of Famer, fell to 0-2.

A week of chaos

The build-up was overshadowed by an incident in which, Yahoo! Sports reports, former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and his friend Saba Lazashvili were attacked in a hotel lobby by Usman Nurmagomedov and several members of Team Khabib.

According to the same report, Nurmagomedov was one of eight defendants to receive a six-month jail sentence for the incident, along with a fine of 300,000 UAE Dirhams (approximately $81,688) and eventual deportation from Abu Dhabi. Dvalishvili again called for Nurmagomedov's release in his post-fight speech.

Lazashvili, 21, became a viral figure after defending Dvalishvili. He replaced Usman's older brother Umar Nurmagomedov on the card and beat Urijah Faber by 12-7 decision. Dvalishvili beat Marlon Moraes by pinfall, lifting his RAF record to 3-1.

Tsarukyan, awards and what's next

Arman Tsarukyan (9-1 in RAF) won the co-main event, beating Neiman Gracie (0-1) by a 10-0 tech fall inside one period, MMA Fighting reports. Afterwards he renewed his call for a bout with Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs. "Size don't matter, especially in wrestling," he said.

Tsarukyan said he would wrestle Burroughs if Burroughs first beats Zaurbek Sidakov. MMA Fighting adds that his UFC title shot might come in 2027.

RAF also named its award winners. Fight of the Night went to Burroughs against Azamat Nurykau, and Match of the Night to Lazashvili against Faber. Yahoo! Sports called it odd to hand out those honours on a card of only wrestling bouts.

Who should Chimaev face next?