ALF League announced that Khamzat Chimaev will meet Jorge Masvidal in a submission-only grappling match headlining the league's inaugural event on Dec. 4 at The Agenda in Dubai. The former UFC middleweight champion has been active in non-MMA competition since losing the title to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 in May. Chimaev is also scheduled to wrestle Colby Covington in the main event of RAF Abu Dhabi on Nov. 14.
Khamzat Chimaev will take on Jorge Masvidal in a submission-only grappling match on Dec. 4, headlining the inaugural event of the ALF League at The Agenda in Dubai, as first reported by MMA Fighting.
The bout is the latest non-MMA booking for Chimaev, who has stayed active outside the cage since losing the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 in May. He is also scheduled to wrestle Colby Covington in the main event of RAF Abu Dhabi on Nov. 14, which would put him in two grappling matches in a span of three weeks.
Chimaev, 32, is 15-1 and still sits at number one in the middleweight rankings and number ten in the pound-for-pound list. Representing the United Arab Emirates and training at Allstars Training Center, he lost a split decision to Strickland in a five-round title fight on May 9, his most recent recorded bout. Before that, he beat Dricus Du Plessis by unanimous decision at UFC 319 in August 2025 to win the belt. His grappling numbers are the draw here: he averages 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes and 1.8 submission attempts over the same span.
Masvidal, 41, is 35-17 and fights out of American Top Team. His most recent recorded fight was a unanimous decision loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in April 2023, and he has dropped his last three recorded bouts, including a UFC 272 decision defeat to Covington, the man Chimaev meets on Nov. 14. Masvidal is best known for his striking, landing 4.05 significant strikes per minute at 47 percent accuracy. His takedown rate of 1.38 per 15 minutes and submission rate of 0.3 per 15 minutes sit well below Chimaev's.
Why it matters
- The match-up is a stylistic mismatch on paper: Chimaev's takedown rate is roughly 3.8 times Masvidal's, and his submission-attempt rate is six times higher.
- Chimaev is three years younger than Masvidal's 41 and holds a three-inch height edge, 188 cm to 180 cm, plus a 3 cm reach advantage.
- The booking gives the new ALF League a recognizable headliner, while Chimaev keeps working through back-to-back grappling dates after his first loss.
