Cody Garbrandt is putting on a singlet. Real American Freestyle announced on X on October 16 that the former UFC bantamweight champion will wrestle former Bellator champion Sergio Pettis at RAF 15, which takes place November 28 at the NOW Arena in Chicago. MMA Sucka described the bout as a featherweight matchup, and MMA Fighting also posted the booking. It will be the RAF debut for both men, and the card streams on Fox Nation.
The Pettis family is doing double duty that night. Sergio’s older brother, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, headlines RAF 15 against Donald Cerrone, who is coming out of retirement for the occasion. So Chicago gets two ex-UFC titleholders on one wrestling card, plus a Bellator champ, which is a decent haul for a promotion that didn’t exist on most fight fans’ radar a short while ago.
Garbrandt is the latest in a steady line of MMA names trying the RAF ruleset, according to Bloody Elbow. Arman Tsarukyan has been the most active of the group and headlines the next RAF event against Dillon Danis in Las Vegas on October 23. Bo Nickal, Belal Muhammad and Merab Dvalishvili have also taken wrestling matches between UFC assignments.
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Where Garbrandt’s MMA career sits
The last decade has been rough for “No Love.” Since he beat Dominick Cruz at UFC 207 to take the bantamweight title, Garbrandt has lost eight of his 12 fights in the Octagon, per Bloody Elbow. His 2026 started well enough with a decision win over Xiao Long in March. Then Adrian Yanez knocked him out at UFC 329 in July. Raoni Barcelos also counts a win over Garbrandt as part of the five-fight streak he carried into his UFC Vegas 121 main event against Raul Rosas Jr. in September.
Pettis arrives with a loss of his own. Mitchell McKee beat him by decision at PFL Chicago in April, which ended a two-fight run in the PFL. Before that, Pettis outpointed Raufeon Stots and finished Magomed Magomedov with a spinning elbow, which is about as clean a way to end a fight as exists.
So you have two former champions, both coming off losses, both new to RAF, meeting under a ruleset neither one has competed in. RAF’s own promo called it “Two MMA champs go head to head.” That’s accurate as far as it goes.
My take: I’m picking Sergio Pettis. Wrestling under freestyle scoring rewards pace and constant hand fighting, and Pettis has been the more active and more consistent competitor lately. His win over Stots was a five-round grind against a strong bantamweight, and his only recent loss went the distance. Garbrandt’s best weapon has always been his hands, and RAF doesn’t let you throw them. Taking a break from getting punched isn’t the worst idea for a guy who has been stopped by Yanez this year, though. If this gives him a payday and a healthy camp without anyone landing a right hand on his chin, I’d call that a win even if the scoreboard says otherwise on November 28.
