RAF06 Recap

Former champs, former Olympians, former World Champions and former UFC headliners clashed in a night no wrestling fan will soon forget. David Carr’s resume was strengthened even more, Jordan Oliver pushed things to the wire once again, Arman Tsarukyan and Georgio Poullas pushed the action past the final horn and Henry Cejudo made good on his main event debut.

Momentum has picked up yet again and no belts seem to be safe in the upcoming events.
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Henry Cejudo vs Urijah Faber: CCC’s Still Got It

It was like riding a bike out there for Henry Cejudo who looked to be in Olympic form in his shutout tech fall performance over one of MMA’s most iconic names.

While Urijah Faber brought a skillset and a “never say die” approach sure to give many people a run for their money, the Olympic gold medalist was just too much.

At slightly under 90 seconds before the first points were put on the board, Cejudo got in a groove and never turned back. Cejudo found offense often and avoided any real threat en route to his third round tech fall victory.

Following the match it’s all but official, Cejudo will be taking on one of the most exciting cardio machines in MMA in Merab Dvalishvili coming your way at RAF 08 in April.
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Arman Tsarukyan vs Georgio Poullas: Stiff Offense and Extra-Curricular Activities

Georgio Poullas entered the match with financial implications attached to his long-running $1,000 challenge to anyone who can take him down. He faced number 1 ranked UFC lightweight, Arman Tsarukyan in a matchup that drew attention due to the contrast in personal branding and competitive backgrounds.

The matchup featured an altered style from Poullas who introduced an uptick in aggression that led to an altercation. Within the first minute Tsarukyan took exception to Poullas’ stiff wrestling and delivered an open-hand slap to the influencer’s face. Izzy came out and restored order but only temporarily.

The match continued without any more stoppages but the chippiness never settled down. Ties and handfighting were consistently hard and aggressive and after Tsarukyan completed his 5-4 victory melee ensued.
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Benson Henderson vs Aljamain Sterling: Funkmaster’s Pinfall Introduction

Originally slated to take on Chad Mendes, Benson Henderson took on Aljamain Sterling who kicked the door down in his RAF debut. After opening the third round up 8-2, Sterling wasted no more time and sealed the match with the pinfall victory.

The commentary team is excited for the future of both men at RAF and with plenty of gas left in the tank it’s hard to imagine we won’t see The Funkmaster lace them up again soon.
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Bubba Jenkins vs David Carr: Carr Cruises To Tech Fall Victory

After wrapping the Legends title belt around his dad earlier in the night, David Carr puts on yet another dominant performance.

Straight out of the gate, Bubba Jenkins put up two points on the former Iowa State Cyclone but it would unfortunately be the only time he would find success in the match.

Carr would respond with a pushout, takedown and a pair of rolls to close out the first period 7-2 and slam the door shut in the following period with a 13-2 final score.

With a smile and a shrug, Carr opened the door to any potential challengers in his post-match interview.
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Andrew Alirez vs Bryce Meredith: A New Title Threat

Friends turned competitors, Andrew Alirez and Bryce Meredith are no strangers to the bright lights and were built for RAF competition.

Two of the most likable NCAA wrestlers of the past decade and a half toed the line against each other both looking to make a splash in their debuts.

In one of the most unforgettable events in RAF’s young history, Alirez had one of the most impressive performances allowing only one takedown and securing the 13-2 tech fall victory in the second period. Coming as a surprise to nobody, RAF 06 introduced the RAF fanbase to the next legitimate featherweight title threat.
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Givi Matcharashvili vs Stephen Buchanan: Match of the Night

Stephen Buchanan has immediately made himself one of the most feared names in the Light Heavyweight division. Likely only one win away from a title matchup, Buchanan took on one of the toughest men of his career in silver medalist Givi Matcharashvili.

The low-scoring affair was packed with action and “just missed” moments between both men. Buchanan found himself up 1-0 after one period and 3-0 after two.

Somewhere in the third he visibly injured his sternum or ribs resulting in a labored end to the match that Matcharashvili capitalized on and won 3-3 by scoring the final points of the match.

Despite taking the win off of criteria, Matcharashvili gave a performance that is sure to overpower almost any man not named Stephen Buchanan. Both men will be back and ready to continue terrorizing the division.
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Everest Leydecker vs Lucia Guzman: Guzman Conquers Everest

Already somewhat of an OG in the world of women’s wrestling, Lucia Guzman took on Everest Leydecker and the wind that was at her back.

The feeling out process saw an aggressive Leydecker and a skillful, composed and opportunistic Guzman.

After a hard-fought pair of takedowns, Guzman took a 4-0 lead into the second period where she would start to slowly dial back the offense and let Leydecker over-extend.

Leydecker would land her lone takedown in the next period but run short on time and force the action in the third. Guzman would essentially capitalize by letting her opponent hand over 6 exposure points fighting for one much-needed takedown. After scoring one more takedown of her own, Guzman would have her hand raised with a 10-3 victory.
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Tajmuraz Salkazanov vs Keegan O’Toole: Salkazanov’s Flawless Outing

One of the most intriguing matchups of the night ended with a very composed, dangerous Middleweights putting on one of his greatest performances to-date over one of NCAA’s most cerebral tacticians.

Known for making a career out of avoiding bad positions and errant attacks, Keegan O’Toole simply couldn’t get anything going against Salkazanov who handed the former Mizzou Tiger one of the only shutout losses of his career at 9-0.

Nobody will every count O’Toole out but it’s hard to imagine many people at all touching the version of Salkazanov we saw at RAF 06.
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Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau vs Evan Wick: Performance of the Night

One of the most feared men in RAF met one of the hungriest.

Desperate to get his title back, Evan Wick had a massive hill to climb in Mahamedkhabib “Kadik” Kadzimahamedau.

Wick wrestled like he was shot out of a cannon and almost appeared to bear Kadik at his own game. Controlling the tempo and placement of the match, Wick lulled Kadik into shoddy attacks and overpowered his defense in a hurry.

Closing out the first period 5-0, Wick came out swinging in the second where he would pour it on and secure the 13-2 tech fall victory along with a Performance of the Night honor.

Commentary team and fans alike are hoping to see Wick in championship form soon.
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Mahmoud Fawzy Sebie vs Zahid Valencia: Z-Money Keeps Rolling

Zahid Valencia bounced back after his RAF 04 loss to Parker Keckeisen well with a 4-0 win over Nate Jackson. Looking to remain in the winner’s bracket, he took on Olympic-veteran Mahmoud Fawzy Sebie.

Valencia wasted no time, landing a takedown and leg lace in only 30 seconds, setting the tone early. Sebie wouldn’t be given much time to recompose himself as Valencia would land another takedown 40 seconds later and put the finishing touches on the 10-0 tech fall before the first period would come to an end.

He’s sure to stay active and it may not be long before Z-Money is looking to avenge his loss to Parker Keckeisen or get his hands on RAF gold.
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‍Jordan Oliver vs Beau Bartlett: Down to the Wire Again for Oliver

Jordan Oliver is getting pretty good at using every second available on the clock at RAF.

Beau Bartlett looked to be a tough test for the aging Oliver but JO is replacing tangibles with craftiness and was able to get it done late once again. Bartlett closed out the first period in the driver’s seat but was narrowly edged out by Oliver in the second, who led by a score of 3-2.

Bartlett tied things up with a pushout point in the third but a confusing sequence and protest to the judges in the final moments of the match had the ball bouncing Oliver’s way yet again.

‍Mugzy vs Clay Guida: Perseverance is Key

Both men came in needing a win and Mugzy was finally able to notch on in the win column.

About thirty seconds into the match, Clay Guida was already rocking a crimson mask following a clash of heads. Mugzy found success quickly after going up 5-2 before the close of the first period.

Remaining one-step ahead of Guida in the second as well, Mugzy completed the tech fall victory before sprinting into the crowd and delivering a heartfelt speech in his post-match interview with Chael Sonnen.

“I showed these kids I could do it and they could too.”

Mugzy kicked the night off on a high note and the momentum never let up. Future UFC Hall of Famers, WWE superstars and more were in attendance, Colby Covington called his next shot and future matches were made.

It was yet another classic event and as always, we’re still getting warmed up.

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