Post announcing Chimaev vs. Masvidal grappling match reportedly removed

ALF League's X account said on Sunday, Nov. 1, that Khamzat Chimaev will grapple Jorge Masvidal on Dec. 4 in Dubai. On Monday, Sherdog reported that the post has been taken down. Nobody has said why, and we found no further statement from ALF or any word from either fighter. The account joined X on Oct. 21, isn't verified and has no bio or website, according to a public mirror of the post.

ALF billed the match as the main event of its first show, according to MMA Fighting's report carried on Yahoo. That report describes it as submission-only grappling at The Agenda. The post, as embedded by Middle Easy, read "KHAMZAT CHIMAEV VS JORGE MASVIDAL — MAIN EVENT OF ALF LEAGUE 1" and promised "TICKETS ON SALE SOON".

What we know and what we don't

We couldn't find who owns ALF, and we found no earlier event or ticket listing.

The removal itself rests on Sherdog alone. Middle Easy's Monday story still embeds the post and doesn't mention a removal, but an embed can keep showing a deleted post. X itself wouldn't load for us. The mirror still returned the post on Monday, but mirrors can serve old copies, so that doesn't settle it.

This wouldn't be MMA or a UFC bout. It's billed as submission grappling, and Middle Easy says ALF gave no time limit, weight limit, overtime rule or broadcast. That leaves open how a match without a tap would end. We have no odds for it.

We wouldn't treat Dec. 4 as a real booking yet. The account is brand new, the post is reportedly gone, and Masvidal has already pulled out of one grappling match this year. He was booked to face Shara Magomedov in a submission-only match at Hype Brazil in Rio on March 11. He withdrew without a public reason, and Edson Barboza took the spot.

The two fighters

Chimaev is 15-1 and 9-1 in the UFC. His one loss came at UFC 328 on May 9, when Sean Strickland took his middleweight title by split decision. Chimaev had closed as a −500 favourite (80%). MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn reported that Strickland's first defence could be a February rematch with Nassourdine Imavov, though it isn't official.

Since that loss he has gone 4-0 in Real American Freestyle (RAF), a wrestling league. The latest was an 11-0 technical fall over Robbie Lawler on Oct. 23. Dubai would be his sixth non-MMA bout since the title loss, according to MMA Fighting. Four of his nine UFC wins came by submission.

Masvidal, the former BMF titleholder, is 35-17 and on a four-fight losing streak. He announced his retirement after losing to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in April 2023. He then lost a boxing match to Nate Diaz in July 2024. Only two of his 35 wins came by submission.

They've never fought, but they've traded insults since at least August 2022, when Masvidal questioned Chimaev's hype and Chimaev tweeted "Wake up buddy". In March, Chimaev answered a Death Row MMA video with "All three of you, same night," aimed at Masvidal, podcast partner Johnny Eblen and Strickland. Masvidal replied on YouTube: "you ain't gonna kill nobody by hugging anybody to death."

What comes next

Chimaev is booked before Dubai regardless. He challenges Colby Covington for the RAF Cruiserweight Crossover title on Nov. 14 at RAF Abu Dhabi, 20 days before the ALF date. Covington is 5-0 in RAF.

We found no ticket seller or published rules for ALF League 1, and neither fighter has mentioned the match in any report we read.