The next major Real American Freestyle event is now scheduled for March 28 as RAF 7 goes down from the Yuengling Center in Tampa Bay, Fla. with the card airing live on FOX Nation.
Bo Nickal makes his highly anticipated return at RAF as he defends his light heavyweight title against Olympic champion Vladimer Khinchegashvili from Georgia. After winning in his RAF debut to claim the title, Nickal was forced out of a scheduled bout against Yoel Romero this past December and then declined facing the one-time Olympic silver medalist after he badly missed weight at RAF 5 in January.
Now Nickal faces Khinchegashvili, who claimed a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics before winning gold at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.
In another title bout on the card, two-time Olympic medalist Kyle Dake defends his cruiserweight title against Parker Keckeisen, who recently pulled off a stunning upset when he beat reigning World Champion Zahid Valencia at RAF 4. A student of retired UFC fighter Ben Askren, Keckeisen is a five-time All-American wrestling for Northern Iowa and now he’ll seek to add an RAF championship to his resume in March.
Also on the card, Olympic champion Kyle Snyder makes his return to RAF for a 2024 Olympic rematch against gold medalist Akhmed Tazhudinov, a Dagestani wrestler now representing Bahrain on the international wrestling stage.
At the Paris games in 2024, Tazhudinov defeated Snyder with a 6-4 score before moving onto capture the gold medal. That match came after Tazhudinov pulled off a shocking 11-0 technical fall win over Snyder at the 2023 World Championships of wrestling.
Now Snyder attempts to get some revenge against Tazhudinov when they clash at RAF 7 in March.
Ex-UFC fighter Milana Dudieva is making her RAF debut and jumping right into the deep end with a middleweight title match against 2024 Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades. Dudieva went 1-2 in her brief stint with the UFC and she’s spent the past few years competing in Invicta FC.
She’ll face a stiff test against Blades, who is recognized as one of the most talented women’s wrestlers in the world after she won an Olympic medal at just 20 years old. She also competes for the University of Iowa’s women’s wrestling team.
“This event is a clear snapshot of where RAF is right now,” RAF CEO and co-founder Chad Bronstein said in a press release. “You’re seeing the sport’s top athletes competing in matchups that simply weren’t possible before. Bringing RAF 7 to Tampa Bay lets us keep building momentum in a first-class arena while continuing to show what a true professional home for wrestling looks like.”
Additional matchups for RAF 7 are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
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