RAF13 Recap - Madness in Miami

RAF took over the Sunshine State once again and crowned new champions, extended legacies and introduced the world to new must-see stars. They left it all on the mat and the fans left it all in the stands.

Miami came to play and were rewarded immediately with Match of the Night in the opening contest. Colby Covington brought more domination and “chaos”, Kennedy Blades did it again, Jacori Teemer kicked in the door and much, much more.

Some matches ended in definitive fashion, some ended leaving the fans wanting a rematch but all of them left the Miami crowd as energized for RAF14 as the fans watching at home.

‍

Colby Covington vs Belal Muhammad - Leave No Doubt

One of combat sports’ most hostile rivalries was officially put to bed.

Colby Covington made good on years of verbal sparring with Belal Muhammad with a short night at the office.

With just over a minute left in the first, Covington landed an exposure takedown on the edge of the mat to jump out to a 4-0 lead. 30 seconds later he secured another takedown for a 6-0 score that he would carry into the second frame.

Picking up right where he left off he would push the score to 8-0 with a takedown and would shortly after close things out before calling for the crowd to choose his next opponent.

The crowd definitively called for a Khamzat Chimaev super match and Colby saluted the “USA” chanting crowd to cap off a wild night.

‍

Khamzat Chimaev vs Gilbert Burns - Borz Shows Out

In a rematch of one of the most tightly-contested battles of both of their careers, Khamzat Chimaev took home the victory but not without some resistance from the former UFC title challenger, Gilbert Burns.

Chimaev took the early lead with a takedown and gut wrench. Burns would answer back with a takedown of his own to bring the score to 5-2 but Chimaev would answer back again and again before closing out the first period by the score of 11-2.

Burns would come in hot in the second, scoring a takedown just seconds into the period but it was only a matter of time before Chimaev would put an end to the crossover supermatch by way of a 15-4 tech fall.

‍

Kennedy Blades vs Diana Avsaragova - New Face, Same Result

Another challenger stepped to the plate with new weapons and tricks up their sleeve and once again, Kennedy Blades made quick work of them.

The crowd has begun to expect quick, aggressive performances out of Kennedy Blades and it’s audibly obvious that she gives them exactly what they want night in and night out. From the first burst to every stalking takedown, the crowd grows louder.

In less than ten seconds Blades scored a stepout point before notching a takedown 10 seconds later to give herself a 3-0 lead. 30 seconds later the score was 6-0. With 32 seconds left she notched another takedown before sealing the 10-0 tech fall victory with a powerful blast double.

Every woman comes into the title match as sharp as they’ve ever been and every match Kennedy Blades is just as good as she’s ever been.

‍

Arsen Harutyunyan vs Austin DeSanto - The Dawn of a New Era

One of wrestling’s wildest champions has been dethroned.

Fan-favorite Austin DeSanto came into RAF 13 looking to prove his last title defense was a low-scoring fluke but Arsen Harutyunyan came to play spoiler and did just that.

The first two periods had the crowd on the edge of their seats with air-tight defense from both men and only a 2-0 lead for Harutyunyan to speak of. Exposure points would turn the entire match upside down with 50 seconds left in the match.

DeSanto would chip away slightly at the new lead but ultimately fall 6-3 to Harutyunyan, the new RAF Bantamweight Champion.

‍

Timur Bizhoev vs Mikey Caliendo - Last Second Heroics

World Bronze Medalist Timur Bizhoev wrestled the match of his life and upset one of the most aggressive wrestlers on the RAF roster in Iowa Hawkeye Mikey Caliendo.

Caliendo and Bizhoev matched offense and defense quite well with the crowd firmly dialed into the action. It took over halfway through the period before Bizhoev scored a takedown and leg lace giving himself the 4-0 lead he would take into the end of the round.

The second period would see Caliendo land a takedown of his own and eventually tie the match 4-4.

The third period saw the best of both men, as well as the crowd, the two men both gained favor with the crowd in the blood and guts third period but a late stepout would see the 5-4 victory for Bizhoev.

Only one man can win but the crowd showed appreciation to both competitors and it’s very clear they’re both on their way up the rankings.

‍

Joe Pyfer vs Luke Rockhold - Pyfer Makes a Statement

Joe Pyfer looks for one of the biggest victories of his career when he took on former UFC Middleweight Champion, Luke Rockhold in a high-scoring affair.

In only 30 seconds Pyfer’s takedown had him sitting at 4-0. The second period it all started to open up with Pyfer scoring a stepout point to give himself the 5-2 lead and before Rockhold knew what hit him, the crowd was on their feet and Pyfer had a 9-2 lead.

With 34 seconds left landed a takedown that would push the lead to 11-3.

Pyfer continued to swarm until he secured the 14-3 tech fall victory.

‍

Jason Nolf vs Julian Ramirez - #AndStill

There’s always excitement when Jason Nolf makes his way through the crowd to the mat and he had the perfect dance partner in Julian Ramirez.

Nolf landed an immediate takedown and gut wrench and took an early 4-0 lead. Ramirez would reverse the position and take the 4-2 deficit into the second frame.

Just as he had in the first, Nolf beat Ramirez on the first step and landed a takedown in only 8 seconds. The second would see many high-flying scoring attempts and a 7-2 lead for Nolf.

At the 1:17 mark Ramirez would mount a comeback scoring a takedown and pushing the score to 7-4. Both men would empty the tank in the home stretch and ultimately Nolf would take the win by the score of 7-6.

Only one man can walk out champion but it was clear in reception in the arena and on social media, the fans want Ramirez back almost as quickly as Nolf.

‍

Chance Marsteller vs Georgios Kougioumtsidis - “Steller” Performance

The man with victories over Evan Wick, Parker Keckeisen, Keegan O’Toole and more made a statement in his RAF debut when he locked horns with Greek World Champion, Georgios Kougioumtsidis.

A defensive first period ended by the score of 2-1 in favor of Kougioumtsidis who scored the only takedown of the period. Almost immediately into the second he landed another and pushed his lead to 4-1. Marsteller scored a stepout point to keep himself within two and the second period would end 4-2.

Kougioumtsidis landed a takedown that most in the arena thought sealed the match when he took a 6-2 lead with just over 1:40 remaining in the defensive battle. Marsteller would yank back the momentum with just 1:07 remaining with a takedown. 30 seconds left a takedown led to exposure and Marsteller grabbed an 8-6 lead that he would hold on to to win his RAF debut.

The crowd audibly welcomed the new divisional darkhorse.

‍

Bryce Meredith vs Movlid Khaybulaev - Scoring in Bulk

Two of the most exciting men of the card met and gave the crowd exactly what they paid for by running up the score the entire match.

NCAA fan-favorite turned mixed martial artist Bryce Meredith took just under a minute before scoring the first takedown of the match. He would land exposure points as well before ultimately ending the offense-heavy first period by the score of 7-2.

Khaybulaev wasn’t counting himself out though. The Dagestani wrestler would score an early takedown and cut Meredith’s lead down to 7-4. Meredith would answer back with a takedown on the edge of the mat to give himself a 9-4 lead before adding a stepout point to go with it.

With 35 seconds left, Khaybulaev would score exposure points to put him right back into the match once again. Meredith would answer right back with a takedown and exposure and close out the second period 14-6.

Meredith would swing for the fences with a cradle that resulted in Khaybulaev scoring two points but almost resulted in a pinfall victory for the Dagestani mixed martial artist.

Meredith would close out the match with a 17-13 victory before calling out Cayden Henschel or Umar Nurmagomedov.

‍

Cayden Henschel vs Johnni DiJulius - Physical Chess Match

With the RAF Crossover Featherweight Title on the line two of RAF’s most beloved stars were in the biggest, loudest match of their careers.

Cayden Henschel dominated the first period offensively and defensively before closing it out with a score of 4-0.

DiJulius made adjustments with immediate impact in the second when he landed a takedown in only 15 seconds. Unfortunately for the Ohio-native, Henschel would immediately reverse the position and the 6-2 lead would carry its way into the third and final period.

The two dug all the way into the bottom of their bags, utilizing unorthodox armdrags, snapdowns and more to overcome the stingy defense but Henschel would only notch one more point and claim gold for the first time in his career before calling out one of the most famous and athletic men on the planet, iShowSpeed.

‍

Jacori Teemer vs Haji Aliyev - A Debut to Remember

Jacori Teemer had his work cut out for him when he took on Olympic silver medalist Haji Aliyev in his promotional debut.

Defense stole the show in the first period before one of Teemer’s patented unique reversals gave him a 3-0 lead to close out the frame.

45 seconds into the second Teemer would reverse a seemingly perfect ankle pick attempt by Aliyev and push his lead to 5-0 before Aliyev would erase almost all of it with a takedown and gut wrench to close out the second by the score of 5-4.

Teemer would open the third and final frame with a takedown and gut wrench and while Aliyev was able to put two more points on the board, Teemer would close the show with the 9-6 victory and introduce the RAF fans to the new lightweight threat.

‍

Cesar Alvan vs Jeremiah Moody - One-Sided Affair

Jeremiah Moody just wasn’t able to get it going from the early seconds of the match.

Just over thirty seconds into the match Alvan brought the crowd to life with a powerful blast double before landing another takedown just 25 seconds later. He wasn’t finished just yet and would notch a takedown, gut wrench and step out point all before the first period expired.

Only needing one point to complete the tech fall, Alvan had more in mind and he would win by pinfall less than 20 seconds into the second period.

The statement win had the fans shocked and roaring.

‍

Mugzy vs The Real Tarzann: Match of the Night

Mugzy and The Real Tarzann kicked things off in style and shook the crowd awake right off the bat.

Tarzan jumped out to early domination and even breaking Mugzy’s finger 30 seconds into the match while holding a 7-2 lead. The two would exchange pushout points before Mugzy closed out the first round with a last-second takedown.

The second would open in viral fashion as Tarzann would carry Mugzy across the mat before launching him out of the circle and push his lead to 12-5 but with 47 seconds left Tarzann landed a takedown that put him a gut wrench away from the tech fall victory. The gut wrench attempt would ultimately seal his demise as Mugzy would catch him sleeping and capitalize on the moment with a pinfall victory.

‍

From the grand opening to the grand closing there was nonstop excitement. Champions were crowned, titles changed hands and new matchups are laid out. You never know exactly what you’re going to get with RAF cards and the good news is, we’ll be back in two weeks with RAF14!

Relive all the action of RAF13 by signing up TODAY for FOX Nation!