Matcharashvili vs. Buchanan Added to RAF 06 Card

Almost one month to the day from Real American Freestyle’s (RAF) sixth offering, it appears as if their RAF 06 card has been set. On Sunday, the organization took to social media to announce that 2025 NCAA champion Stephen Buchanan would return to face Olympic silver medalist Givi Matcharashvili of Georgia.

Buchanan made his RAF debut earlier this month when he teched combat sports legend Yoel Romero in the second period. Due to a miscommunication regarding weight classes, Buchanan didn’t make weight for his scheduled match with Patrick Downey. There were some last-minute changes to the card, which led to Buchanan’s match with Romero at heavyweight.

Buchanan was a four-time NCAA All-American during a career that spanned Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Iowa. During his lone season with Iowa, Buchanan went 26-1 and finished as a Big Ten runner-up before defeating Josh Barr in the NCAA finals.

Matcharashvili is a three-time European Senior champion and a two-time world silver medalist. In 2024, Matcharashivli defeated Azerbaijan’s Magomedkhan Magomedov, 5-0, to make the Olympic finals. He ended up falling in the gold medal match to fellow RAF signee Akhmed Tazhudinov.

As of now, this is the 11th bout on the RAF 06 card. None of the previous cards had more than 11 matches, so it seems like that might be the final addition.

RAF 06 will take place on February 28th from Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona. This will be the farthest west that the organization has ventured in their short history. Before RAF 06, the RAF 03 card in Chicago represented the most western point for its cards.

Last week, RAF received good news from their broadcast partner, Fox Nation. The organization’s event have been picked up for another year due to the success of their first five cards.

As of now, the RAF 06 card looks like this:

Lightweight (155 lbs) - Henry Cejudo vs. Urijah Faber

Featherweight (145 lbs) - Muhammed Mokaev vs. Bryce Meredith

Middleweight (175 lbs) - Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov vs. Evan Wick

Middleweight (175 lbs) - Frank Chamizo vs. Keegan O’Toole

Women’s Strawweight (110 lbs) - Lucia Yepez Guzman vs. Everest Leydecker

Cruiserweight (190 lbs) - Zahid Valencia vs. Mahmoud Sebie

Welterweight Championship (165 lbs) - David Carr vs. Bubba Jenkins

Featherweight (145 lbs) - Jordan Oliver vs. Beau Bartlett

Welterweight (165 lbs) - Clay Guida vs. Mugzy Bulljunk

Middleweight (175 lbs) - Chad Mendes vs. Benson Henderson

Heavyweight (Unlimited) - Stephen Buchanan vs. Givi Matcharashvili