Hendrickson vs. Elders Added to RAF 01 Card

With under a month until the debut of Real American Freestyle’s RAF 01 event, their card appears to be finalized with the release of their tenth bout this afternoon. 2025 NCAA champion and world team member, Wyatt Hendrickson, will take on Egyptian Olympian Mostafa Elders at the unlimited weight class.

Hendrickson is fresh off a two-match sweep over Trent Hillger in Final X. Despite the two-straight wins for Hendrickson, their second match proved to be one of the most entertaining of the entire event. The pair combined for 34 points as Hendrickson downed Hillger, 20-14.

Hendrickson turned the wrestling world upside down in Philadelphia at the 2025 NCAA Championships when he knocked off two-time national champion and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson to capture his national title. Hendrickson earned All-American honors twice (both third place) for the Air Force Academy before using his final year of eligibility at Oklahoma State. Hendrickson was one of two national champions for the Cowboys, who finished third in the nation in David Taylor’s first season as head coach.

In addition to his Final X berth and the US Open title that preceded it, Hendrickson has had plenty of success in the freestyle wrestling world. He was fifth at the U20 World Championships in 2021 and captured a U23 world title two years later.

His opponent, Elders, is a two-time Senior African champion in freestyle. He competed in the 2024 Olympic Games and dropped a close bout to Kazakhstan’s Alisher Yergali in the Round of 16.

Both are also expected to compete at the 2025 Senior World Championships, a couple weeks after the RAF 01 event.

With this match announcement, the RAF 01 card looks like this:

• Matt Ramos vs. Nathan Tomasello  (135 lbs)
• Real Woods vs. Darrion Caldwell  (145 lbs)
• Austin Gomez vs. Lance Palmer (155 lbs)
• Wyatt Hendrickson vs. Mostafa Elders (285 lbs)
• Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Zeltzin Hernandez Guerra  (120 lbs)
• Kennedy Blades vs. Alejandra Rivera Arriaga  (150 lbs)
• Kyle Dake vs. Aeoden Sinclair (190 lbs)
• Evan Wick vs. Jason Nolf (175 lbs)
• Bo Nickal vs. Jacob Cardenas  (205 lbs)
• Yianni Diakomihalis vs. Bajrang Punia  (155 lbs)