Reaction to RAF 06

If you stayed up late for RAF 06, you got to see a little bit of everything. Some controversy and confusion regarding scoring, some quality action, the return of a combat sports legend. Oh yeah, and a brawl. Here’s a quick recap of the ten matches that make up RAF 06.

Mugzy Bulljunk over Clay Guida (13-3)

After a couple of losses in RAF, Mugzy gets his first win largely on the strength of his counter exposures.

Jordan Oliver over Beau Bartlett (5-3)

Very odd match. RAF has adopted UWW’s rule changes regarding grounded wrestlers and stepouts. It appeared that Bartlett was a 3-3 winner in the contest. Oliver had two instances where he was in on Bartlett’s legs, but Bartlett dropped to his knees well before the boundary and no points were awarded as the wrestlers went out of bounds. On both occasions, Oliver was adamantly arguing with the officials. He seemed to be the only person in the building aware of the rule changes - officials, announcers, coaches, etc.

Zahid Valencia over Mahmoud Sebie (10-0)

This one played out as expected. I wouldn’t have minded if there had been a second look at the final sequence. A case could have been made that Sebie earned four points.

Evan Wick over Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (13-2)

This was expected to be a great match with lots of action, but I don’t think a one-sided win for Evan Wick was the consensus. Wick looked great against a high-quality opponent.

Tajmuraz Salkazanov over Keegan O’Toole (9-0)

Salkazanov moves to 2-0 after his second quality win in RAF. In his debut, he had a win on criteria over James Green. On Saturday, he neutralized O’Toole. I should note there were a couple of issues with the streaming on Saturday and one of them forced me to miss about a period of action here.

Lucia Yepez Guzman over Everest Leydecker (10-3)

I loved this matchup for the young, American phenom Leydecker. The two were generally pretty close until a sequence late in the third period, where Yepez Guzman exposed Leydecker three times during a scramble. It’s probably something that Leydecker could easily correct. The plan seems to be Yepez Guzman against Strawweight champion Sarah Hildebrandt - that would be great.

Andrew Alirez over Bryce Meredith (13-2)

Great debut for Alirez, who should be a key player in the organization’s featherweight division. Despite his time away from competition, specifically in the freestyle area, Alirez was able to pull off some savvy maneuvers and got multiple exposures in scrambles. Hopefully, we see him against someone in the title hunt at the division (Real Woods, Jordan Oliver, Beau Bartlett).

Givi Matcharashvili over Stephen Buchanan (3-3)

This match showed why Matcharashvili is a consistent medal contender on the international scene and that Buchanan isn’t too far behind. He had a great run in the first two months of 2026 internationally. Unfortunately, Buchanan appeared to suffer a rib or sternum injury. Hopefully, it doesn’t jeopardize and disrail his promising 2026 campaign.

David Carr over Bubba Jenkins (13-2)

David Carr retained his welterweight championship with a win over former ASU national champion and RAF commentator Bubba Jenkins. Jenkins shocked Carr with exposure from a gator roll to take the early lead, but from there it was all Carr.

Aljamain Sterling over Benson Henderson (fall; 1st)

No one was really sure what to expect from these two lower-division collegiate All-Americans turned MMA stars. Youth prevailed as Sterling won via fall.

Arman Tsarukyan over Georgio Poullas (5-3)

The actual wrestling action took a back seat to the fireworks that took place after the match. As the two were on the mat, Tsarukyan started with some MMA-style ground-and-pound Poullas. That led to both coaches, trainers, and RAF personnel rushing the mat. Some side scuffles broke out around the mat area. This type of thing wasn’t ideal; however, it has already made the rounds on social media and will give the organization more widespread exposure.

Henry Cejudo over Urijah Faber (11-0)

A different generation got the opportunity to see what made Henry Cejudo special on the wrestling mat. He showed off some of his lightning-quick low leg attacks. It sounds funny looking at the score, but I think Faber acquitted himself well, considering his age and his lack of recent wrestling experience.

After Cejudo’s win, UFC star Merab Dvalishvili was brought to the mat for a face off and Cejudo mentioned a possible match on RAF 08. Dvalishvili agreed and RAF has released promotional materials for that match; presumably, it will headline the event.