Masanosuke Ono vs Ben Davino - International Superstar vs American Muscle

Ben Davino has faced nothing but the highest-level names in the sport since before even turning 20 years old. He’s faced a murderer’s row already in his career but finds yet another way to level up when he takes on Penn State’s international powerhouse Masanosuke Ono in a match we’re sure to see many times before all is said and done. The beginning of a potentially storied rivalry begins at RAF12!

Sometimes rivalries fall from out of nowhere and other times you see them coming from a mile away. With Masanosuke Ono waiting in the wings to make his Penn State debut and Ohio State’s Ben Davino proving himself with his NCAA runner-up status already, RAF12 will introduce fans to the new rivalry at 133 pounds.

Ono may not have any NCAA accolades to his name yet as an incoming junior but he already has Worlds, U20 and Grand Prix gold to his name. The world has watched in awe at the emergence and Jax Forrest and Davino but RAF12 is about to show the world the other name they’ll be raving about for the next two years.

Ono’s speed has had coaches and teammates singing praises for years. A lot of wrestlers in the division have fast shots but Ono has fast transitions between seeing an opening and exploiting it. Is he seeing openings before they present themselves or is he just the most funky-brained offensive wrestler since Jason Nolf?

He has also become abnormally famous for his hand-fighting abilities. Just when you think you’ve seen a wrestler maximize every facet of their offense, Ono comes out with new ways to weaponize handfighting. He can puzzle you with his offense and set you up without you even knowing he’s eyeing an attack.

By now he could be continuing to polish his international game in preparation for an Olympic run but instead, he’s coming stateside to tackle RAF and NCAA wrestling in what could be one of the most impressive crossovers the sport has seen in awhile.

Standing in his way is the young but surging Ohio State Buckeye, Ben Davino.

Davino was one match away from NCAA gold but has plenty of time left in his folkstyle career. While he doesn’t hoist any hardware yet, fans can already see the upside on the three-time Illinois State Champion.

His grit speaks for itself. He can clash heads and grind it out with anybody to ever lace up the shoes but his positioning sets him apart before the first shot is even taken. He's constantly ready to attack without giving his opponent an easy opening which sounds basic but at the highest levels, it is incredibly difficult and hard to gameplan for.

Offensively speaking, he’s one of the best in NCAA at finishing exchanges. His scrambling is elite and he shows the large difference between getting to a leg and being almost automatic once he’s gotten one.

He already has the offensive fundamentals worthy of instructional breakdown videos and the grit to make him a threat in any era. Ono is no easy night out but either is Davino.

Ono will likely be looking to get to Davino’s legs before Davino can get comfortable, let alone offensively rolling. If he can’t and he’s forced to win up-close exchanges, his world-class snap-downs will serve as Davino’s worst nightmare and the crowd’s favorite moments.

Davino will look to make every exchange hard and physical. Enacting “The Jordan Rules” on Ono will be something he hasn’t seen much of internationally or in the NLWC. He’ll also look to make Ono defend without outright chasing legs. He can’t spend the entire match “surviving” or chasing. Don’t bite on big movements or fakes and muscle through the unorthodox. This could be the key to victory for the American.

Both have a path to victory but who will take chapter one of a, likely, long, storied rivalry?

Find out at RAF12!

Catch Masanosuke Ono vs Ben Davino, Saturday, August 22 at RAF12 ONLY on FOX Nation!