Illinois Natives Gomez and O'Connor to Meet on RAF 03 Card

We have a new matchup from RAF, and it’s a good one. RAF 03 will take place in Chicago, Illinois, on November 29th at the Wintrust Center and is expected to have a significant local flavor. The latest matchup released will pit a pair of Illinois natives against each other when Austin Gomez and Austin O’Connor clash.

Gomez is a RAF veteran, having earned a win on the inaugural offering from the company. After two events, his win via technical fall over Lance Palmer was the fastest in the organization.

In addition to his win at RAF 01, Gomez has been wrestling extremely well in 2025. While representing Mexico, Gomez captured a Pan-American championship and notched a win over world champion Iszmail Musukaev at the Hungarian Ranking Series event. At the World Championships, Gomez advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to the defending world champion, Nurkozha Kaipanov (Kazakhstan), in a 10-8 shootout.

Gomez wrestled collegiately for Iowa State, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Over the course of his career, he made it onto the NCAA podium on two occasions. During his final year of eligibility with Michigan, Gomez finished as an NCAA runner-up. Earlier in his career, while at Wisconsin, Gomez captured a Big Ten title.

O’Connor put together a career that has to be considered one of the greatest in the history of North Carolina wrestling. He earned NCAA All-American honors four times for the Tar Heels and went undefeated while capturing national titles in 2021 and 2023. His final title came over Penn State’s Levi Haines, a Senior world silver medalist and U23 world champion, earlier this year.

Since wrapping up his career at North Carolina, O’Connor has moved back to his home state to assume a spot on the coaching staff at the University of Illinois.

This match is intriguing as the pair have a long history against each other. During their collegiate careers, O’Connor was typically at a larger weight class. His best accomplishments have come in folkstyle, as well.

It’s also fun to think about stylistically, as Gomez has a wide-open offensive arsenal, while O’Connor was known for his physical nature and picked his spots offensively. 

This battle will take place at the lightweight class (155 lbs). 

Here is the RAF 03 card with the addition of the Clash of the Austin’s: 

Middleweight (175 lbs) - Michael Chandler vs. Chad Mendes

Featherweight (145 lbs) - Bo Bassett vs. Darrion Caldwell

Lightweight (155 lbs) - Austin Gomez vs. Austin O’Connor