RAF Moscow live blog: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Tyron Woodley
This is the RAF Moscow live blog for Khamzat Chimaev vs. Tyron Woodley, the 195-pound catchweight main event for Saturday’s card in Russia.
Chimaev makes his second appearance in the promotion since losing the UFC middleweight title to Sean Strickland at UFC 328 in May. In his Real American Freestyle debut, Chimaev pinned Dillon Danis in under a minute at RAF 10 in June, which then led to an all-out brawl between the two teams. “Borz” is set to compete a second time in a less than two-week span as he’s slated to face Gilbert Burns at RAF 13 on Sept. 18 in Miami.
Woodley recently competed at RAF 12 in August and picked up a comeback victory against current UFC welterweight Joaquin Buckley. The former UFC welterweight champion earned his first combat sports victory in nearly eight years following a seven-fight skid — which includes a slew of UFC bouts, along with three boxing bouts against Jake Paul and Anderson Silva.
Check out the Chimaev vs. Woodley live blog below.
Closing Odds
Depending on which book you look at, Khamzat Chimaev is anywhere from a -5000 to -10000 favorite, while Tyron Woodley comes back between a +812 to +2000 underdog. Not a lot of faith in “The Chosen One.”
Pre Match
Tyron Woodley makes his way to the mat and is moving quickly. He looks ready to go. Now the lights go out, a la The Undertaker, and the camera man perfectly shoots a man picking his nose in the crowd. Chimaev is on the mat and the official intros are about to take place.
Round 1
Chimaev shakes Woodley’s hand after he’s intro’d, and we’re off. They lock up nd Chimaev looks so much bigger in there. Woodley shoots a single, Chimaev scrambles around the back with an ankle pick and the ref blows the whistle. Back to the feet they go. Chimaev pushes Woodley over the line to get the first point of the match.
Chimaev gets another push out to make it 2-0 and we’re back at it. Woodley shoots again, thwarted by Chimaev. “Borz” gets a full body lock and slams Tyron to the mat, then Chimaev gets the shoulders to the mat and gets the pin! Just like that, it’s over!
Official Result: Khamzat Chimaev def. Tyron Woodley via pinfall in Round 1, 1:34
Post Match
Chimaev is now speaking to Chael Sonnen, who is talking about his t-shirt that features the late Buvaisar Saitiev. Chimaev is now 2-0 with two pinfalls in RAF and when he’s asked what he wants in the future, Chimaev says whoever, as he’s already set to face Gilbert Burns on Sept. 18 in Miami at RAF 13.
And that’s it for RAF Moscow. 13 matches in a little over three hours.
