Chimaev vs Masvidal set for submission-only grappling at ALF League 1 in Dubai

Khamzat Chimaev will face Jorge Masvidal in a submission-only grappling match headlining ALF League 1 on December 4, 2026, at The Agenda in Dubai. The promotion announced the match on Sunday, for the new league's first event.

Red Corner MMA carried the news first: "Khamzat Chimaev vs. Jorge Masvidal is set to headline the first event of the ALF grappling league in Dubai on December 4, under submission-only rules." The account added that the card would feature "a number of household names." No other bouts are confirmed yet, and ticket details are still to be announced.

For Masvidal, 41, the booking ends a long layoff. The UFC's first BMF champion has not competed since dropping a majority decision to Nate Diaz in a boxing match in July 2024. His last MMA bout was at UFC 287 in April 2023, when Gilbert Burns took him down four times and controlled him for almost six minutes in a decision win in Miami. Masvidal retired from MMA after that defeat, then changed his mind and spent two years angling for a return, teasing a UFC comeback by calling out Leon Edwards.

The grappling is the obvious question mark. Masvidal has two submission wins in 52 professional MMA fights. Sportskeeda rates Chimaev the favourite on his wrestling.

Chimaev, 32, has stayed busy outside the octagon since losing the middleweight title. He lost a split decision to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on May 9 in Newark — two judges scoring it 48-47 for Strickland, one for Chimaev — despite landing nine of his 13 takedown attempts, as Strickland kept getting back to his feet and out-jabbed him in the later rounds. He is still the top-ranked middleweight and No. 10 pound for pound.

Since May he has wrestled four times for Real American Freestyle, beating Dillon Danis, Tyron Woodley, Gilbert Burns and Robbie Lawler. He stopped Lawler by technical fall in the first period at RAF 14 in Las Vegas. He is already booked against Colby Covington for the RAF cruiserweight crossover title in Abu Dhabi on November 14, so Dubai will be his second grappling date in three weeks.