Sergio Pettis to Wrestle Cody Garbrandt at RAF 15 in Chicago

Sergio Pettis has two bookings before the end of the year. The former Bellator bantamweight champion has been booked to face former UFC bantamweight titleholder Cody Garbrandt in a freestyle wrestling match at Real American Freestyle 15 in Chicago on November 28. RAF announced the pairing on Friday, and the event will stream on Fox Nation.

The matchup is a crossover for both men, taking two MMA fighters out of the cage and onto the mat. It joins a card that also features Donald Cerrone against Anthony Pettis, Raul Rosas Jr. in his wrestling debut against Clay Guida, Cayden Henschel against Conor Beebe, Matt Ramos against Roman Bravo-Young, Haley Augello against Miranda Maverick and Danny Sabatello against Jacob Schultz.

A PFL fight comes first

Before he can think about Garbrandt, Pettis has another assignment. He is scheduled to meet Joji Goto at PFL Dubai on November 14, part of the ongoing partnership between the PFL and RIZIN. Goto will be making his PFL debut after several years competing exclusively for RIZIN. Pettis enters that bout off a unanimous decision loss to Mitchell McKee in April. Before that setback, he opened his PFL run with wins over Magomed Magomedov and Raufeon Stots. The 33-year-old holds a 25-8 professional record and has won two of his last five.

The Bellator chapter

Pettis spent six years in the UFC before moving to Bellator. He debuted there in 2020 and captured the bantamweight title the following year with a unanimous decision over Juan Archuleta. He defended the belt twice before Patchy Mix ended his reign in November 2023.

For Garbrandt, a former UFC bantamweight champion, the booking moves him from the Octagon to the wrestling mat. For Pettis, it is a double booking: a PFL fight in Dubai on November 14 followed two weeks later by a freestyle wrestling match in Chicago.