Khamzat Chimaev faces Dillon Danis at RAF 10

Khamzat Chimaev is not waiting long after UFC 328. A few days after losing the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland, Chimaev already has his next date set, but it will not be inside the Octagon. He is booked to face Dillon Danis in the main event of RAF 10 on June 13 in St. Louis.

This is a freestyle wrestling match, not an MMA fight. That distinction matters. Chimaev is not taking another UFC bout on a short turnaround, and Danis is not stepping into a cage with four-ounce gloves. They are meeting on the RAF mat, where Chimaev can lean into the part of his game that first made him terrifying in MMA.

The timing still makes the booking hard to ignore. Chimaev just lost his unbeaten aura against Strickland, lost the middleweight belt, and immediately moved into a different kind of spotlight. Some fighters disappear after a title loss. Chimaev is doing the opposite. He is staying visible, staying active and putting himself into a matchup that brings attention for very different reasons.

Danis brings the noise. He has the jiu-jitsu background, the Conor McGregor connection and years of controversy following him around. He also made his RAF debut earlier this year against Colby Covington and lost by technical fall. Against Chimaev, he gets another famous name, but also a much nastier physical problem.

Chimaev vs Danis confirmed

RAF has listed Chimaev vs Danis for June 13 in St. Louis, with the event set for Chaifetz Arena. MMA outlets have also confirmed the booking, and the matchup is being positioned as the headline attraction for RAF 10. That gives the promotion exactly what it wants: a UFC star coming off a major title fight against one of combat sports’ loudest grappling personalities.

• Khamzat Chimaev will face Dillon Danis at RAF 10 on June 13.
• The event is scheduled for St. Louis, Missouri.
• The matchup is a freestyle wrestling bout, not an MMA fight.
• Danis previously lost to Colby Covington by technical fall in RAF.

For Chimaev, this is a smart way to move without rushing straight back into UFC damage. He can compete, test himself, make headlines and remind people that his wrestling is still a huge weapon. A loss to Strickland in MMA does not suddenly erase what Chimaev can do in grappling exchanges. RAF gives him a cleaner stage to show that part again.

RAF 10 main event

Danis gets another big name

Danis is a strange opponent because his name often travels farther than his recent competitive results. He can still talk his way into attention, and he still has enough grappling history that people understand why a wrestling promotion would use him. But Chimaev is not a soft landing. He is bigger, stronger, younger in competitive miles, and built around exactly the type of pressure that can turn a ruleset like this into a long, uncomfortable night.

Danis has to make the match awkward quickly. If he lets Chimaev dictate pace, grip positions and direction, he may end up defending more than attacking. Chimaev’s best work usually starts with physical pressure. Once he makes opponents react, he keeps stacking problems on top of each other until they run out of clean answers.

That is the part RAF can sell easily. Chimaev does not need a long speech to explain why people should watch him wrestle. Fans know the way he fights. They know the body locks, the pressure, the mat control and the confidence. Danis brings the mouth and the grappling identity. Chimaev brings the force.

Chimaev stays active

The bigger UFC question is what this means for Chimaev after Strickland. It does not replace his need to rebuild in MMA. It does not give him the middleweight belt back. It does not answer whether he stays at 185 pounds or eventually looks at another division. But it keeps his name moving while the UFC title picture settles.

A strong RAF performance would help him change the tone after UFC 328. Instead of sitting only with the Strickland loss, Chimaev can put a dominant grappling win in front of fans and keep pressure on the conversation around his next UFC move. That may not fix everything, but in combat sports, momentum is not always built in one place.

For RAF, the booking is exactly the kind of move that gets people outside pure wrestling circles to pay attention. Chimaev against Danis is not just a technical match. It is a name fight, a comeback-adjacent story and a test of how much Chimaev’s star still moves after his first major UFC setback.

On June 13, Chimaev will not be defending a UFC belt or chasing Strickland across the cage. He will be on the mat against Danis, trying to remind everyone that the wrestling threat is still very real.