RAF09 Event Recap - Raising the Bar Even Higher

Between Ridge Lovett turning heads to Gable Steveson removing all doubt that he’s still the guy to see in the main event, every single athlete on the card upped their stock at RAF09.

Challengers beware, there’s not an easy night out for anybody who takes the RAF mat.

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‍Gable Steveson vs Alexander Romanov - A King Sized Return

‍Gable Steveson was back and proved it both on the mat and on the mic. The feel out process took a little longer than some expected but Steveson secured a takedown and gut wrench thirty seconds into the first period before closing it out with a score of 5-0.One period of adjustment was all he needed because he was able to put away one of the strongest MMA heavyweights just over a minute into the second by a score of 10-0. The domination, agility and signature backflip was there. For anybody questioning if he was locked in mentally, his post-match speech cleared it up. “Next up I would like Abdulrashid Sadulaev and there’s a guy from Iran named Amir Hossein Zare, he’s the best heavyweight right now, we’ll go for my third match. If you want it, I’m here,” Steveson said. He’s in RAF to prove he’s still the best heavyweight in the world and he’s taking specific aim. ‍

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Colby Covington vs Chris Weidman - All American Showdown

‍Two of college wrestling’s favorite mixed martial artists are sure looking like wrestlers again. Colby Covington and Chris Weidman squared off in one of the most closely-contested matches of the night where both men brought all they had to the table.21 seconds into the first period Weidman went up 2-0 with the first takedown of the match. The two would exchange offense and defense for the remainder of the period, closing out the frame with a 4-2 score in favor of Weidman. The tooth-and-nail battle continued for both men with almost a minute going by before either man could find offense.50 seconds into the second period Covington would secure a takedown making the score 4-4 which would carry into the final period. With only 48 seconds remaining, Covington would notch a shot clock point that would give him the 5-4 lead. Weidman shot until the final horn but in the end it was Covington who would leave with his hand raised. After the match he had choice words for RAF’s busiest man, Arman Tsarukyan, and we’ve officially got an RAF11 Main Event.

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‍Kyle Snyder vs Givi Matcharashvili - Anybody, Anytime, Anywhere

‍After Kyle Snyder put on one of the most electric performances in RAF history, how would the light heavyweight champ respond against an Olympic silver medalist who was coming off the victory of an NCAA champion?The first period was hard-fought for both men with Snyder pushing his lead to 2-0 with a push out point with 30 seconds remaining in the period. The second period was very similar with Snyder closing out with a 5-0 lead.The RAF champ turned on the heat in the third, scoring an immediate takedown, giving him a 7-0 lead just 8 seconds into the third period. Less than thirty seconds later he would complete the tech fall victory with a slam takedown and pushout point closing out the show with a perfect score of 10-0.Following the match he expressed interest in Abdulrashid Sadulaev but sounding anything but selective.“I’ll wrestle anybody RAF wants me to wrestle.”

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‍Merab Dvalishvili vs Frankie Edgar - Performance of the Night

‍The UFC’s ironman clashed with the man with the iron lung as Frankie Edgar took on Merab Dvalishvili in a match that saw a steady build in the first period with Frankie Edgar holding a 1-0 lead after two minutes. Just over thirty seconds into the second, Dvalishvili knotted things up with a pushout point before also scoring a takedown at the one minute mark. The 3-1 lead would be carried into the final period. Dvalishvili opened things up 45 seconds into the final frame with 4 exposure points giving him a 7-1 lead. Just inside of 30 seconds remaining Dvalishvili would take Edgar down and finish off the 12-1 tech fall with a gut wrench as well as Performance of the Night honors.

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‍Real Woods vs Ibragim Ilyasov - Back on the Throne

‍RAF’s inaugural featherweight champion had his work cut out for him against international challenger Ibragim Ilyasov .Both men started at a break-neck pace and with 48 seconds remaining in the first period Real Woods would land a takedown and gut wrenches to push the score to 6-1.While he was enjoying a comfortable lead in the second, Woods didn’t have his sights set on coasting to victory. With 59 seconds remaining in the period, the former featherweight champion became the new featherweight champion when he defeated Ilyasov with a pinfall.

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‍Parker Keckeisen vs Georgios Kougioumtsidis - Match of the Night: Blood, Sweat, More Blood

‍Parker Keckeisen and Georgios Kougioumtsidis were sneakily two of the most evenly matched men on the card. With only two pushout points for Kougioumtsidis on the board, both men pushed even harder in the second period. The second was still the story of two immovable objects as Kougioumtsidis scored another pushout point and Keckeisen landed a takedown, closing out the second period with a score of 3-2 in favor of the Greek. The third period saw the two finally able to put it together with Keckeisen scoring a takedown less than 30 seconds in. Now with his first lead, Keckeisen would quickly land yet another takedown before being taken down himself. With just under one minute remaining in the final period Keckeisen would score the final points of the match, carrying his 8-5 lead into the final horn. Both men poured it all out in the match with the crimson evidence covering Kougioumtsidis’ singlet and were rewarded with Match of the Night honors. Following the matchup Keckeisen politely called out Bo Nickal stating, “you come to RAF to wrestle the best and beat the best.”

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‍Jason Nolf vs Christopher Minto- Match of the Night

‍In from the rafters, out with the win once again for Jason Nolf. Making his way to the mat with a confident smile and seemingly every youth wrestler in Texas, Nolf met his short-notice opponent in the center of the met and landed a pushout point in under 30 seconds. Between exposure points and push out points, the two wrapped up the first period by the score of 3-2 in favor of Nolf with the crowd firmly planted on the edges of their seats. Minto matched Nolf’s offense immediate and quickly evened things up with a pushout point before taking the lead with a clutch takedown with 40 seconds remaining in the second. Up by a score of 5-3, Minto gave Nolf just enough space and found himself victim of a takedown and gut wrench to the joy of the Texas crowd. Nolf would take the 7-5 lead into the final period and score a shot clock point and a last second takedown, giving the youth wrestling crowd one more thing to scream for before taking the match by the score of 10-5.Both men’s stock rose yet again and Nolf and Minto took home Match of the Night honors.

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‍Zain Retherford vs Antrell Taylor - The Zain Train At Full Speed

‍Another dream matchup came to life when Nebraska’s 2025 National Champion and 2026 NCAA Runner-up, Antrell Taylor locked horns with Penn State’s three-time NCAA National Champion, Zain Retherford. The generation matchup started slowly and measured with Retherford closing out the first period with a 1-0 lead. He’d open the second period in the same fashion by scoring a pushout point near the one-minute mark. With 40 seconds remaining he’d score yet another pushout point to take a 3-0 lead into the final period. Retherford would surpass his entire output in the third while keeping the dangerous Antrell Taylor held to 0 points. He would first notch a shot clock point putting things slightly out of reach for Taylor before slamming the door with a takedown. Taylor kept pace but Retherford’s closing signature bow-and-arrow was what everybody in the building except him wanted to see. It’s safe to say, the three-time National Champion is still in peak form which is bad news for all challenging lightweights.

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‍Bajrang Punia vs Ridge Lovett - Lovett Finds Freestyle Home

‍Nebraska’s fan-favorite may just become one of RAF’s fan-favorites as Ridge Lovett puts on one of the biggest performances of his wrestling career in another dream matchup. There’s not a lot of overlap between India’s Olympic bronze medalist, Bajrang Punia and NCAA All-American Ridge Lovett so both men made the most of the opportunity with a back-and-forth high-scoring affair.Lovett struck first with a shot clock point and takedown that gave him a first period, 3-0 advantage. Lovett pressed even harder in the second with a takedown and gut wrench that took the score to 7-0. Just as the crowd and commentary table began expressing slight surprise in their praise for the newly-transitioned freestyle athlete, Punia put up four points and got himself right back into the match with a new score of 8-4.Lovett answered by reaching even further into his bag of tricks and found a takedown and exposure points to close out the period with a score of 11-6.Lovett was able to find two more exposure points with just over thirty seconds remaining and while Punia did secure a takedown in the closing seconds of the match it was Lovett who would leave Texas the winner by the score of 13-8.The lightweight division just got even more interesting.

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‍Lucia Yepez vs Cameron Guerin - Catchweight Domination

‍Lucia Yepez delivered one of the fastest and most dominant performances of RAF09 when she took on NCAA National Champion Cameron Guerin. Very few have been able to put up points on Guerin the way Yepez was able to, scoring a takedown and gut wrench with out of the gate. The crowd fed into the aggressive styles and came alive yet again with 20 seconds remaining when Yepez scored another takedown and with only 12 seconds left in the match had sealed up the first-period, perfect 10-0 tech fall victory. Both women raised the bar for the evening and put-on for the sole women’s match but it was all Yepez when all was said and done.
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Mugzy vs Arman Tsarukyan - Setting the Tone, Setting the Table

‍There were nearly fireworks yet again in the high-scoring opening matchup between Mugzy and Arman Tsarukyan. Pressure was the name of the game from the opening seconds as Tsarukyan scored a pushout point less than ten seconds into the match. With 90 seconds remaining a takedown and a roll gave him a 5-0 lead before Mugzy placed himself right back into the match with four exposure points. Things would get interesting for a moment as a pushout point for Tsarukyan raised the temperature between both men briefly. Tsarukyan would use the moment to fuel more offense and score a takedown and leg laces until the 16-5 tech fall was completed. His match set the tone for the evening and his interview set the table for the RAF11 Main Event when he called out Colby Covington stating, “I hope [Covington] is going to win, I’m going to whoop his a**.”With Covington’s co-main event win, the two will now square off live from Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 18 at RAF 11.

The talent gets deeper and deeper, the crowds grow louder and louder and as you saw with RAF09, it just gets better and better. Stars like Jon Jones, AJ Ferrari and the Dallas Cowboys were in the building. Jones told Chael Sonnen following the main event that he wanted in on the action and AJ Ferrari is always game. The sky is the limit following RAF09. Relive all the action of RAF09 by signing up TODAY for FOX Nation!