A rapidly expanding wrestling organization called Real American Freestyle is making its international debut with an event scheduled for Tbilisi, Georgia, marking the company’s first venture beyond North American borders. The July 11 competition will showcase former UFC champions Merab Dvalishvili, a Georgian favorite, and American fighter Henry Cejudo.
Unlike the entertainment-focused wrestling shows typically presented by organizations like World Wrestling Entertainment, RAF aims to bring wrestling back to its competitive foundation while creating opportunities for amateur and college wrestlers to pursue professional careers.
“Wrestling has always been a global sport. What it has lacked is a global platform,” stated Chad Bronstein, CEO and co-founder of RAF, when announcing the Georgian event on Wednesday.
“RAF was built to change that. Georgia is home to some of the greatest wrestlers in the world and one of the proudest wrestling cultures anywhere. We couldn’t imagine a better place to launch our international expansion,” Bronstein added.
Freestyle wrestling enjoys widespread popularity across North America, Europe and Asia, offering mixed martial arts competitors like Dvalishvili and Olympic wrestling champion Cejudo a competitive outlet that’s less physically demanding than MMA fighting.
Several current and former MMA athletes including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier have used their wrestling backgrounds to achieve UFC championship success. RAF’s future events will include appearances by former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev and recently retired fighter Colby Covington.
RAF competitions follow a format of three two-minute rounds with point scoring, where matches can end immediately if one wrestler pins their opponent’s shoulders to the mat.
Calling wrestling “a part of Georgia’s identity,” RAF’s Georgia country lead Tevdore Makashvilli expressed hope that the upcoming competition would give former Olympic wrestlers a chance to continue their athletic careers.
“Our athletes have spent decades proving themselves on the Olympic and world stage, and now RAF is bringing a new level of opportunity, visibility, and excitement to the sport,” Makashvilli commented.
