RAF Moscow: Chimaev vs Woodley Leads Star-Studded Wrestling Showcase
Real American Freestyle packed up its circus of world and Olympic champions and took it to Moscow, rolling into Arena Mytishchi with a 13-bout card that looked more like an all-star game than a standard wrestling show. At the top of the bill: a catchweight main event pitting former UFC champions Khamzat Chimaev and Tyron Woodley in a crossover clash that underlined exactly what RAF is trying to be — the meeting point of elite freestyle and big-name MMA.
Chimaev, back for his second RAF outing after pinning Dillon Danis in June, arrived in Russia as the promotion’s new wrecking ball. Woodley, by contrast, came in as the comeback story. The former UFC welterweight king snapped a long, painful drought at RAF 12 when he stormed back from 8-1 down to beat Joaquin Buckley 14-8. That rally, his first combat sports win since 2018, bought him another night under the bright lights, this time on foreign soil.
RAF didn’t travel light. The undercard was stacked with world and Olympic hardware: Jordan Burroughs, Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Bo Nickal, Kyle Dake, Kyle Snyder, and rising women’s star Kennedy Blades all featured, several with titles on the line.
Snyder, Dake and Blades Hold Their Ground
The championship bouts delivered exactly what they promised: high pace, high stakes, and no room for error.
In the light heavyweight championship, Kyle Snyder kept his grip on the belt with an 11-5 win over Olympic champion Akhmed Tazhudinov. It was a marquee matchup on paper — the established American powerhouse against one of the sport’s most dangerous newer forces — and Snyder handled it with the kind of controlled aggression that has defined his career. He didn’t just survive Tazhudinov’s offense; he met it, countered it, and steadily pulled away on the scoreboard.
Kyle Dake faced his own test in the cruiserweight title bout and had to walk a far tighter rope. The multiple-time world champion edged Kadik 7-6, a one-point margin that spoke to how little separated them in the scrambles. Dake’s knack for managing risk in the final exchanges preserved his reign, but it was the kind of match that reminds even dominant champions that the room for comfort is shrinking.
Kennedy Blades left no such doubt. Defending the women’s middleweight championship, she tore through Vusala Parfianovich with a 10-0 technical fall. Blades imposed herself from the opening whistle, piling on points and closing the show with ruthless efficiency. On a night filled with tight title fights and tactical battles, her performance stood out for its clarity: there was a champion, there was a challenger, and there was never any confusion about which was which.
Burroughs Rolls Back the Years
Jordan Burroughs, the face of American freestyle for more than a decade, stepped into his middleweight bout against Magomed Kurbanaliev with the kind of name recognition that fills arenas on its own. He walked out having reminded everyone why that name still carries weight.
Burroughs dismantled Kurbanaliev by 10-0 technical fall, a vintage display of pressure, timing, and mat control. The scoreline told the story. Once he found his rhythm, the match turned into a one-way march to the finish. For a wrestler whose career has already spanned eras, this was another line on a résumé that refuses to fade.
Star Power Across the Card
The depth of RAF Moscow showed in the non-title fights as well, with established stars and crossover names scattered throughout the lineup.
At light heavyweight, Bo Nickal delivered an 11-7 win over Shirvani Muradov, a score that reflected the kind of open, attacking style Nickal has carried from the NCAA mats to MMA and now into RAF. He gave up points, but he gave back more.
Shara Magomedov, another MMA crossover, impressed at cruiserweight with an 11-3 victory over Neiman Gracie. The margin underlined his comfort in the freestyle rule set, even against a grappler with Gracie’s reputation.
In the featherweight division, Vito Arujau produced one of the most lopsided scorelines of the night, rolling to a 13-3 technical fall over Soslan Ramonov. Arujau’s offense came in waves, and once he cracked Ramonov’s defenses, the points poured in.
Yusuf Raisov matched that sense of dominance at middleweight, crushing Marif Piraev by 12-2 technical fall. The gap in tempo and variety showed quickly, and Raisov never let Piraev breathe his way back into contention.
Jason Nolf’s catchweight meeting with Ismail Khaniev brought a different kind of drama. Nolf advanced by criteria in a 5-5 bout, eking out the narrowest possible win in a tactical scrap where every exchange mattered.
At heavyweight, Pouya Rahmani controlled his clash with Anatoly Malykhin, coming away with a 10-3 victory that underlined his ability to manage size and power without surrendering position.
Abdulrashid Sadulaev, one of Russia’s most revered wrestlers, added more local flavor to the event in a light heavyweight showdown with Zac Braunagel, while Zahid Valencia’s cruiserweight contest against Ibragim Kadiev added further depth to a card already overflowing with elite talent.
RAF’s Global Ambition
RAF Moscow began at 12 p.m. ET, with U.S. broadcast details still to be finalized, but the intent behind the event was already clear. By flying its brand of freestyle into Russia and anchoring it with crossover headliners like Chimaev and Woodley, the promotion signaled that it wants more than niche status. It wants the world.
With champions defending, legends reasserting themselves, and MMA names testing their mettle on the mat, the Moscow showcase felt less like an experiment and more like a statement. If this is what an overseas stop looks like, the question now is simple: where does RAF take this traveling spectacle next, and who dares to step into its spotlight?
