Real American Freestyle announces RAF Georgia as first international event

Real American Freestyle will head out to the country of Georgia for their first international event, according to a release from the organization. It’ll take place in Tbilisi, Georgia on July 11th, one week prior to RAF 11 in Milwaukee.

Former UFC bantamweight champion, and Georgia native, Merab Dvalishvili will headline the event with a matchup against Olympic Gold Medalist and former two-weight UFC champ Henry Cejudo. The two were supposed to wrestle at RAF 08 in Philadelphia in April, but Cejudo pulled out due to injury.

The co-main event will feature an electric matchup as 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, and current RAF light-heavyweight champion, Kyle Snyder will wrestle Abdulrashid Sadulaev. RAF also announced UFC lightweight and Real American Freestyle superstar Arman Tsarukyan and Geno Petriashvili will also have matches on the card.

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“Wrestling has always been a global sport. What it has lacked is a global platform,” Chad Bronstein, CEO and Co-Founder of RAFm said. “RAF was built to change that. Georgia is home to some of the greatest wrestlers in the world and one of the proudest wrestling cultures anywhere. We couldn’t imagine a better place to launch our international expansion.”

RAF also revealed a matchup of Olympic Silver Medalist Givi Matcharashvili vs. two-time All-American Zach Elam (Missouri), who currently reps the Scarlet Knight Wrestling Club. That’ll be a heavyweight matchup.

Snyder, a former Ohio State star, currently trains at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club at Penn State. He is one of the most decorated American wrestlers of all-time and he’ll run back his rivalry against Sadulaev.

Snyder is 2-3 against Sadulaev in their careers, all in international competition. Now, they’ll wrestle at RAF Georgia. Their most recent matchup came at the 2023 World Championships, although it was a walkover win for Snyder en route to Bronze.

Sadulaev beat Snyder 6-0 for gold in the 2021 World Championships after beating him 6-3 in the 2020 Summer Olympic finals for gold as well. Snyder first beat Sadulaev 6-5 in the 2017 World Championships Finals before losing to him in 2018 by fall.

“Wrestling is part of Georgia’s identity, and there is no better place for RAF to launch its international expansion – the energy, passion, and tradition of wrestling make this the perfect place,” Tevdore Makashvilli, Country Lead, RAF Georgia, said. “Our athletes have spent decades proving themselves on the Olympic and world stage, and now RAF is bringing a new level of opportunity, visibility, and excitement to the sport.

“This event will showcase some of the best wrestlers in the world in front of one of the most passionate wrestling fan bases anywhere. We’re proud to partner with RAF – it’s a statement about where the sport is headed, and we’re excited for Georgia to help lead that future.”