Hodge Winners Hendrickson and Parris to Meet at RAF 04

We’re still a few weeks away from the RAF 03 card, but we got some news today regarding Real American Freestyle’s fourth offering, RAF 04. The card will take place on December 20th from the Fishers Events Center, in Fishers, Indiana, just outside of Indianapolis.

In addition to the date and location for RAF 04, a potential main event was announced as well. The RAF heavyweight champion, Wyatt Hendrickson, will put his title on the line against Mason Parris.

Both are RAF veterans who debuted in impressive fashion. Hendrickson teched Mostafa Elders 14-1 at the inaugural RAF event. Parris countered with an 11-0 shutout over Aleksandr Romanov at RAF 02.

After Hendrickson’s title win at RAF 01, Parris was brought out to face off with Hendrickson and hinted at a match in the future.

Hendrickson is at the tail end of a memorable 2025. He pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college history by defeating 2021 Olympic gold medalist, Gable Steveson, in the 285 lb NCAA finals. About a week later, he was named the Dan Hodge Trophy winner for the 2024-25 season. Later in the spring, Hendrickson won the US Open and then downed Trent Hillger in two consecutive bouts to make the Senior World Team.

Parris is making his way back to the wrestling world after spending much of this year trying to make the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. Before turning his attention to football, Parris was a 2024 Olympian and a world bronze medalist in 2023. During his collegiate days at Michigan, Parris also earned the Hodge Trophy.

The pair has a history together, as they met at the 2022 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and Parris prevailed with a 12-5 decision. He would finish the year undefeated before claiming the Hodge. Obviously, since that match was almost three years ago, much has changed for both wrestlers since then. Hendrickson, in particular, has improved greatly.

This event will be a homecoming of sorts for Parris, who graduated from Indiana’s Lawrenceburg High School, which is about 100 miles away from Fishers.

For a matchup involving domestic opponents, this is one of the best that RAF could have made. Whether it is officially the main event or not at RAF 04 is irrelevant - it’s a fun match and a good start to the RAF 04 card.