Cejudo 0-2 Against Merab, Books Third Fight at RAF 12

Henry Cejudo is 0-2 against Merab Dvalishvili. You know that. I know that. At this point, even Merab knows that. Cejudo's convinced RAF to book them a third time.

RAF 12 is in Cleveland on August 22, 2026. That's ten days away. At Rocket Arena. For the inaugural RAF Lightweight Crossover championship. And yes, if you're thinking "why does this guy get another shot after losing twice," you're asking the right question. Everyone is. That's the story.

Let's count the tape:

UFC 298, February 2024: Cejudo vs. Dvalishvili, unanimous decision. Merab. Clear loss. Cejudo was the UFC's flyweight and featherweight legend walking into that cage. Two-division champ. Olympic gold medalist. The King of Cringe. And Merab, a grappler competing in a combat sport that was supposed to be his development ground, absolutely schooled him. That was the story everyone bought. New promotion, new rules, Merab adjusts faster, Cejudo's outside his lane.

Then he signed with RAF.

RAF Georgia, June 2026: Cejudo vs. Dvalishvili II. Here's where it gets weird. Cejudo fights almost a perfect fight. He's up 8-0. Eight. Points. Zero. With less than two minutes to go. Merab is getting beaten at his own game. Wrestling, control, the grappling arts that supposedly favor him. And then it doesn't matter. Merab finishes. Cejudo taps. The comeback is dramatic. The loss is absolute.

So Cejudo's 0-2. Two different sports. Two different rulesets. Two different promotions. Two different versions of Merab Dvalishvili, apparently.

And he asked for it again.

This is where you have to respect the stubbornness, or maybe pity it. I haven't decided yet.

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The Henry Cejudo Problem

Cejudo's entire competitive identity is built on being the guy who doesn't quit. The King of Cringe meant one thing to some people, something else to others. But it always came from one place: his willingness to fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. He's the guy who moved up to featherweight and beat Dominick Cruz. He's the guy who moved to bantamweight and beat Marlon Moraes. He's the guy who moved to RAF, to grappling, to a sport where he's allegedly working from scratch.

Except he's not working from scratch. He's an Olympic gold medalist. He's been in professional combat sports for 20 years. He knows how to fight. He knows how to compete. Against Merab, twice, he's 0-2.

The first loss? Okay. New sport, new rules, you take it and build from there. The second loss—he was winning. He was right there. He had eight points with two minutes left. You can't write this off as "I'm still learning the ruleset." That's a loss that eats at you. That's a loss that tells you something fundamental didn't work, and you're going to chase it.

But it's the third booking that's genuinely fascinating. Because Cejudo didn't just accept a third fight, he pursued it. He asked for it. He's the one pushing for another shot with the guy who has him figured out. In a sport where you can fight literally anyone, where there's no unified ranking system, where you can cherry-pick opponents and build a mythology that lasts just long enough to sell a Twitch stream, Cejudo chose to walk back into the cage with the man who has beaten him twice.

That's either the most delusional or the most courageous thing a fighter can do. Or maybe both.

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The Merab Question

Here's what doesn't get said about Merab: he's a legitimate grappler. Not "a fighter with wrestling." Not "an MMA guy with submissions." He's a grappler in the truest sense. He trains gi and no-gi. He studies position like it's scripture. He understands weight distribution and pressure in a way that most crossover athletes simply don't.

When he beat Cejudo at UFC 298, it wasn't close. Cejudo got schooled. Everyone who watches combat sports saw it the same way. Merab controlled the pace, controlled the mat, dictated the action. The scorecards read 30-27 across the board. That's not a decision. That's dominance.

The RAF Georgia fight was messier. Different ruleset, different scoring, a promotion still figuring out what it is. But Merab didn't just win on points. He finished Cejudo. That's the part that sticks with you. A finish means Merab didn't just control the match. He didn't just out-wrestle him. He made Cejudo quit. He put him in a position where Cejudo had to choose between tapping and unconsciousness.

That's a different kind of loss. That's the kind that follows you.

So when Cejudo walked away from that cage and pursued a third fight instead of sinking into it, the wrestling and grappling communities watched. They all had the same question: what kind of guy keeps coming back after that?

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RAF 12 and What's Actually at Stake

RAF is one year old. RAF 12 in Cleveland is their anniversary event. Headline: Cejudo vs. Dvalishvili III. That main event tells you what RAF believes: "We get the big names. We get the rematches. We get the stories that matter."

But here's what actually hangs in the balance:

If Cejudo wins: He's back. 1-2 becomes 2-2, and suddenly the narrative flips from "persistent loser chasing ghosts" to "veteran fighter grinds out the comeback." The wrestling world reevaluates. Merab becomes the fighter who had him figured out but let it slip. The third fight becomes a trilogy worth watching, not a cautionary tale.

If Merab wins: This stops being interesting. It becomes a pattern. Three losses across two sports, two rulesets, two promotions. That's not a rivalry. That's a fighter who tried three times and couldn't find the answer. Merab moves on to real competition. Cejudo... well, does he ask for a fourth? At what point do you have to accept that the other guy is just better?

From RAF's perspective, they're betting on narrative. They're betting Cejudo walks in with something new. New strategy, sharper mind, the desperation of a man with nothing left to lose except his legacy. They're betting that Merab, having proven his point twice, might drop his guard slightly. They're betting that ten days is enough time for the movie between now and then to convince people this time is different.

But you know what the wrestling community is thinking? The same thing they thought before the first two fights: Merab is the better grappler. Merab understands position. Cejudo is still learning the language. That gap doesn't close in ten days.

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The Crossover Question

For the jiu-jitsu and wrestling communities, Cejudo vs. Dvalishvili III is a referendum on crossover viability. If Cejudo, with all his pedigree and experience and Olympic credentials, can't beat a grappler like Merab in a grappling-focused promotion after two attempts, what does that say about combat-sports fighters making the jump?

Conversely, if Merab beats Cejudo a third time, it's absolute confirmation that grappling isn't a skill you download from your Olympic wrestling background. It's not something you master by living at elite competition level 20 years ago. It's something you have to practice every single day, in every single variation, against every type of opponent. It's a martial art, not a fighting tool.

That's the subtext everyone's dancing around. Cejudo's 0-2, and instead of taking it as a sign that he should stay in his lane, he's asking to learn it twice more. The grappling world is watching to see if that's courage or delusion.

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Ten Days

August 22. Ten days. Rocket Arena in Cleveland.

I'd be shocked if anyone picks Cejudo. The tape doesn't support it. The first loss was clean. The second loss came with him ahead. The matchup favors Merab in every dimension that matters in grappling-specific rules.

I'd also be shocked if Cejudo doesn't show up ready to prove something. That's the Cejudo we know—the guy who shows up when it matters, who finds angles other people miss, who competes even when the math says he shouldn't. Maybe that's the version we see. Maybe he figures it out. Maybe the third time is the charm in a way that the first two weren't.

Maybe.

But probably Merab finishes him again, and Cejudo gets to make a choice about who he is after that.

This post was generated by AI. Sources are linked below. Follow @bjj-problems on YouTube for the weekly video digest.

Sources

• Henry Cejudo UFC Career Record and History
• UFC 298 Results - Cejudo vs Dvalishvili
• Real American Fighting (RAF) Promotion - Official
• RAF Georgia 2026 - Cejudo vs Dvalishvili II Results