Kennedy Blades vs Diana Avsaragova - Heavy is the Crown

A big opportunity for a very worthy Diana Avsaragova means another opponent putting everything they have into their chance to claim Kennedy Blades’ RAF Middleweight title.

Kennedy Blades has been one of the most dominant athletes on the RAF roster since her debut at RAF03. She’s 3-0 with 3 tech fall victories and has yet to surrender a single point. While her reign has been flawless, the reality is she’s getting the absolute best of every opponent every event and the absolute best version of Diana Avsaragova is a threat to anybody.

Blades’ “attack first” mentality coupled with one of the most impressive arsenals in the game makes a recipe for disaster for challenging middleweights. Blades keeps every opponent thinking far more about the constant threats than they are about their own gameplan.

She has won every match by the respective scores of 11-0, 10-0, 11-0 and the only person who has even felt her throw abilities is Abby Hornacek.

Blades has a bag of tricks that we haven’t even seen the bottom of, an other-worldly pace and a Spencer Lee-like killer instinct. She could very comfortably sit at the top of the division for some time and her opponents know it.

The other side to this coin is that with such a big reputation, she’s only going to entice every opponent to put their best foot forward every time they accept a match. If she falls asleep at the wheel for even one second, her opponents make her pay faster than any they’ve faced before.

Avsaragova is one of the only women who can go shot for shot with Blades when it comes to killer instinct. The 28-year-old Russian is a wrestle-first mixed martial artist with freestyle hardware to her name and a size advantage over almost every opponent she’s ever faced.

With respect to all of Blades’ RAF opponents thus far, Avsaragova holds a strength advantage over almost all of them and when she’s right, she’s one of the most explosive women in the PFL cage. Blades is incredibly physical but she also loves making opponents react to her physicality. If Avsaragova can meet or initiate the collision rather than giving ground and reacting, she can completely disrupt the rhythm that has made Blades so effective.

Avsaragova is most definitely aware of Blades’ dominance but with her focus typically being on mixed martial arts may lessen the threat that Blades usually possesses. When you’re worried about breaking limbs or being knocked out, you put yourself in dark places multiple times per year, not just when preparing for Blades.

Blades is, for good reason, the one to see in women’s freestyle wrestling. At only 22 years old she hasn’t even hit her physical prime yet and may only get more scary but she’s still human. One bad night out, one misplaced leg, one bad scramble could be the difference between another ear-to-ear smile and another opponent walking out with her RAF belt.

Can Diana Avsaragova be the one to dethrone the face of women’s wrestling? Find out at RAF12!

Catch Kennedy Blades vs Diana Avsaragova LIVE at RAF12, Saturday, August 22 ONLY on FOX Nation!