Khamzat Chimaev hasn’t even fought in the Real American Freestyle Wrestling even once. However, the Chechen star appears to be making major moves within the wrestling-only promotion. On Saturday night, during RAF 08, it was revealed that ‘Borz’ has inked a deal with the promotion, with a potential fight booked for RAF 10. 

Meanwhile, Olympic wrestling champion Kyle Snyder, who defended his RAF light heavyweight title against Rizabek Aitmukhan at RAF 08, switched his stance on facing UFC fighters, especially Chimaev. Snyder claimed he would be open to facing Chimaev under the RAF banner. Now, Chimaev has issued a $200K challenge to any Olympic champion. 

“Poor wrestlers started throwing challenges my way,” Chimaev wrote on X. “I’m having trouble finding sparring partners, waiting for any Olympic champion to step up for sparring—if he survives, I’ll give him 200 thousand dollars 🤝.”

Although Chimaev didn’t name any names, it was clear who the UFC middleweight champion was referring to. The 31-year-old is currently preparing for his UFC 328 title defense against Sean Strickland. The pair will collide at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 9. And UFC CEO Dana White appears happy for ‘Borz’s endeavors outside the UFC.

Chimaev, of course, competed in wrestling after he moved to Sweden. Although he competed in several tournaments, building a solid resume, ‘Borz’ eventually chose to carve out a path in the MMA world. This eventually led him to the UFC, where he has become a dominant force. Chimaev remains undefeated and is currently the No. 3 pound-for-pound champion.

While it remains to be seen whether Khamzat Chimaev and Kyle Snyder end up fighting at an RAF event, Snyder made an exception in his interest to face ‘Borz.’

Kyle Snyder didn’t want to fight UFC fighters before changing his mind to face Khamzat Chimaev

Snyder always knew what he wanted from his wrestling career. And crossover bouts against MMA fighters were never it. He simply wasn’t interested, and he had previously dismissed the idea. 

“I don’t [want to wrestle UFC fighters],” Snyder said. “I want to wrestle the best guys.”

That mindset is the result of what some may see as arrogance. But for Snyder, it’s simple math; most fighters can’t match an elite wrestler like him. Despite his mindset, though, there are some exceptions.

“Unless one of those guys, a guy like Yoel Romero… he’s a serious Olympic level wrestler,” Snyder explained. 

Even then, he admitted that such a fight had its limitations due to age and time away from the sport. But now, Snyder has had a change of heart. And that is only for a very specific opponent: Khamzat Chimaev.

“I’ve seen clips of him wrestling, and I think he’s pretty good,” Snyder said. “He’s similar to Arman [Tsarukyan]… you watch him wrestle, and you’re like, wow, pretty good.

“The thing I like about Khamzat is he’s fearless,” Snyder added. “He competes like he’s the alpha… I’d be excited. I think it would be fun to get ready for.”

Khamzat Chimaev will have to have his RAF fight even if he somehow loses to Sean Strickland. But will it be against Kyle Snyder? From Chimaev’s tweet, it appears that might very well be the case.