Kyle Snyder is already one of the most accomplished American wrestlers in history with Olympic gold and silver medals on his resume along being a four-time World Champion and he’s not done adding to that legacy.
While he once held the record as the youngest American wrestler to ever capture gold at the Olympics (a feat Gable Steveson took from him during the 2020 games), Snyder is now the elder statesman at 30 years old but remaining a stalwart for success when it comes to wrestling in the U.S. and he’s not slowing down any time soon. Snyder has designs on the 2026 World Championships before turning his attention to the 2028 Olympics, which are being held in Los Angeles but in the meantime he’s staying busy with an ultra-important rematch booked against fellow Olympic champion Akhmed Tazhudinov at RAF 7 on Saturday.
In two career meetings, Tazhudinov scored a tech fall win over Snyder at the World Championships and then beat him again during the 2024 Olympics. Snyder now looks for a little taste of revenge in their third encounter.
“He’s good in many different ways,” Snyder told MMA Fighting about Tazhudinov. “Obviously defensively, he is a very strong scrambler. He’s very good at countering you and rolling you through, putting you on your back and things like that. He’s very good at finishing when he gets his hands locked on your leg. He’s savvy about knowing where he’s at on the mat, getting people to wrestle in the positions that he has an advantage in.
“He’s got a lot of strengths and obviously you don’t come in and win your first World Championship and then go onto win the Olympics the following year without being very good in many positions.”
For wrestling purists, Snyder vs. Tazhudinov is effectively one of the biggest and most competitive matches that a promotion like RAF could make. But RAF has also put together a lot of fun, off the wall matches featuring some of the best and brightest from the UFC, which includes the card on Saturday featuring Arman Tsarukyan facing off with Georgio Poullas in a rematch for the main event as well as former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington taking on Dillon Danis.
Some UFC fighters have even tested themselves against current top wrestlers but the fighters haven’t fared very well. Former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad got blanked by NCAA champion David Carr and Pat Downey dominating Joaquin Buckley in similar fashion when they met this past November.
While Snyder remains a big MMA fan after once considering a career in the sport and often supporting teammate and friend Bo Nickal at his fights, the multi-time Olympic medalist has no real interest in those crossover matches pitting him against a big name from the UFC.
Snyder knows there’s not a single fighter on the UFC roster that would stand much of a chance against him in a wrestling match and he’s just not game for a gimme.
“I don’t [want to wrestle UFC fighters],” Snyder said. “I want to wrestle the best guys. Unless one of those guys, a guy like Yoel Romero, I was kind of interested in him. I used to watch this guy wrestle and he’s a serious Olympic level wrestler. But even age with him, it’s tough when you’re that old and been out of wrestling specifically as long as he has. I think there’s enough quality guys in the world to focus on.”
Snyder wrestling anybody from the UFC roster including current or former champions such as Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall just wouldn’t offer him much of a challenge.
That said, Snyder has enjoyed when UFC fighters face off against each other because those matches happen on a much more even playing field.
“I think it’s more interesting like I know Henry [Cejudo] is wrestling Merab [Dvalishvili] on the April card,” Snyder said. “I think that’s more interesting than watching one of the top wrestlers in the world wrestle a UFC guy. We’ve seen it a couple of times. For me, I’m just like what’s the point? It doesn’t really make any sense.
“But you said Bo [Nickal] and [Khamzat] Chimaev, Bo is obviously a serious wrestler but that would be interesting. They’d probably start fighting. It’s interesting.”
With so much attention already being paid to the 2028 Olympics in the U.S., Snyder’s only focus is leveling up with every match and every tournament with hopes he can add another gold medal to his collection.
“The thing I look forward to the most is the level of competition,” Snyder said. “I want to wrestle the absolute best guys and compete against World Champions and Olympic champions and that’s what I’m most interested in.
“I think my mentality, the best way to get prepared for 2028 is to be prepared now. The 2026 World Championships are important to me and Lord willing, I’d like to be on the team. So I’m getting prepared for that. One thing I’ve learned, it all goes really fast. I have a lot to get better at and I need to make the most out of each day. You think about the Olympics but I would say I probably don’t think about it as much as people would think. I’m really just thinking about what can I do to get better today and then making the 2026 World team and then I’ll think about getting ready for the World Championships.”
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