RAF 11: Preview

It’s been a busy week for Real American Freestyle (RAF). For the first time in their almost year of running shows, the organization held one overseas and will feature two shows within the same month. Last Saturday it was Tbilisi, Georgia, and this one it’ll be Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Judging by early ticket sales, the wrestlers on this card, and the fact that Wisconsin doesn’t have events like this, I think there will be a huge turnout for RAF 11. After a change to the card last week, this event will not feature any title matches, but I’m not sure it matters. There’s still plenty of quality in terms of the matchups themselves. Oh, and it also features an incredible comeback from one of Wisconsin’s favorite sons, Ben Askren. Here are the matches that will go down on RAF 11 and some background information about its participants. Catchweight - Colby Covington vs. Arman Tsarukyan Two of the UFC fighters who have had the most success in RAF will clash as Colby Covington meets Arman Tsarukyan. Over the weekend, Tsarukyan ran his record to 7-0 in the organization with a tech fall victory over Kazakh MMA fighter Kuad Khamitov. Covington boasts wins over larger opponents like Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold. The winner might have a claim as the MMA face of RAF. Cruiserweight (190 lbs) - Ben Askren vs. Belal Muhammad This match marks the incredible comeback of Ben Askren. Just over a year ago, he was close to death and needed a double lung transplant after being hospitalized with an illness. Now, Askren wants another match in front of his home fans. Initially, Askren was supposed to be a cornerstone of the RAF family and was slated to compete on the RAF 01 card. Now, he’ll get his chance against UFC fighter Belal Muhammad. Muhammad previously appeared on the RAF 04 show, against welterweight champion David Carr. Catchweight - Frankie Edgar vs. Clay Guida Somehow, these longtime UFC fighters never crossed paths in the octagon, but they’ll get the chance in Milwaukee. Both are looking for their first RAF win. Edgar is 0-1 after a loss to Merab Dvalishvili - that loss is looking much better after Merab’s win over Henry Cejudo last weekend. Guida has suffered losses to Cayden Henschel and Mugzy Bulljunk. I would think Edgar has the edge, but I’m not completely sure. Middleweight (175 lbs) - Keegan O’Toole vs. Christopher Minto This has the potential to be an excellent matchup. Keegan O’Toole is an Askren Wrestling Academy product who will be competing in his home state. The last time we saw O’Toole on the raised mat, he came out on the right side of an awesome matchup with Bekzod Abdurakhmanov. In Christopher Minto’s only RAF appearance, he put up an admirable fight, but fell to Jason Nolf, 10-5. Women’s Cruiserweight (160 lbs) - Adeline Gray vs. Skylar Grote This will be the debut of the women’s cruiserweight division and the return of one of the GOAT’s of American women’s wrestling, Adeline Gray. Gray is a six-time world champion and 2020 Olympic silver medalist. She was last in action at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials, where she fell to Kennedy Blades in two straight matches. Skylar Grote has been near the top of the domestic ladder for much of the last five years. She has made an appearance in Final X and has been active domestically and internationally. Bantamweight (135 lbs) - Arsen Harutunyan vs. Ben Davino This was initially supposed to be a bantamweight championship match with Austin DeSanto and Ben Davino, but DeSanto had to withdraw with an injury. That’s ok, because in step’s world medalist Arsen Harutyunyan. Harutyunyan made his RAF debut on the RAF 10 show and got down early to Caleb Smith, before lighting up the scoreboard with 14 unanswered points. Davino is making his first RAF appearance. He was a national runner-up in 2026 as a true freshman for Ohio State and a 2023 U17 world team member. Light Heavyweight (215 lbs) - Trent Hidlay vs. Magomedkhan Magomedov 2026 world champion Trent Hidlay is back in RAF after securing his second straight world team berth. Hidlay has wins over Patrick Downey and Jacob Cardenas under the RAF umbrella, but the competition gets even tougher this time. He’ll take on world silver medalist and Olympic bronze medalist Magomedkhan Magomedov. Magomedov hadn’t been active in 2025, after the Olympic Games; however, he has appeared in one Ranking Series event in 2026, defeating American Jay Aiello. Cruiserweight (190 lbs) - Aeoden Sinclair vs. Magomed Ramazanov It wouldn’t be a RAF event in Wisconsin if Aeoden Sinclair isn’t on the card, would it? Sinclair has expressed a desire to compete often and against top-notch competition. Since the NCAA Championships, Sinclair has wrestled at two RAF events, defeating world medalist Khidir Saipudinov and losing to world champion, Zahid Valencia. It doesn’t get any easier on Saturday as Sinclair takes on 2024 Olympic gold medalist Magomed Ramazanov. Ramazanov defeated American Aaron Brooks in the Olympic semis and then took out the legendary Iranian Hassan Yazdani for the gold medal. Light Heavyweight (215 lbs) - Patrick Downey vs. Zac Braunagel This was initially supposed to be a bout on the RAF 10 card, but it was scrapped the week of the event. Now, it’s back on and features an early RAF regular, Patrick Downey, against a new face, Zac Braunagel. Downey has a 1-3 record in RAF, but has taken on a wide variety of opponents. This time he’ll square off with a hard-nosed bruiser from Illinois in Zac Braunagel. Braunagel has competed internationally in Greco more than freestyle, which is fine as Downey doesn’t shy away from upper body throws and the like. Heavyweight (UNL) - Tony Cassioppi vs. Mostafa Elders Wisconsin assistant coach Tony Cassioppi gets his third chance to pick up an RAF win. Cassioppi has run into a couple of buzzsaws in his first two RAF appearances. He faced World/Olympic champion Akhmed Tazhudinov and world medalist Shamil Sharipov. This time it’s a bit more manageable with Egyptian Olympic Mostafa Elders. Elders fell to Wyatt Hendrickson on the RAF 01 card, but did post a win over Steve Mocco a couple of months later. Welterweight (165 lbs) - Mikey Caliendo vs. Mirzo Khayitov It’s the long-awaited RAF debut for Mikey Caliendo. Before there were any actual RAF events, Caliendo was promoted as having signed with the organization. Now he’ll get to lace them up for the first time. Caliendo made the 165 lb NCAA finals in each of the last two seasons and should be a force on the freestyle scene. He’ll face Mirzo Khayitov, a NJCAA All-American, who competes internationally for Uzbekistan and has trained at Oklahoma State. Women’s Strawweight Championship (120 lbs) - Lucia Yepez Guzman vs. Felicity Taylor Women’s strawweight champion Lucia Yepez Guzman has been RAF’s breakout women’s star and a frequent face on cards for the past few months. She has posted wins at RAF 09 and RAF 10 to bring her record with the organization to 3-0. Yepez Guzman has earned silver medals at the World Championships and Olympics in each of the last two years. Felicity Taylor is her opponent on Saturday and makes her first RAF appearance. Taylor was our world team representative in 2025 and was a U23 world team member on two occasions.

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