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Tyron Woodley Says He Never Retired as RAF Matches With Buckley and Chimaev Are Set

Scheduled wrestling bouts plus ongoing boxing give him multiple pathways back to the MMA cage this year.

Overview

  • Woodley wrestled Joaquin Buckley at RAF 12 in Cleveland on Saturday as part of a short RAF run that organizers and multiple outlets confirmed.
  • He is booked to face Khamzat Chimaev at RAF Moscow on Sept. 5, a higher-profile grappling test Woodley acknowledges will draw headlines.
  • In an interview with MMA Junkie Radio Woodley said he never formally retired from MMA and said he may fight in the cage again this year.
  • Woodley told reporters he intends to compete across wrestling and boxing while keeping MMA an option and added he will not do bare-knuckle fighting.
  • A former UFC welterweight champion who last fought in MMA at UFC 260 in March 2021, Woodley’s RAF schedule lets him stay active while a formal signed MMA return remains unconfirmed.