RAF 03
| RAF 03: Mendes vs. Chandler | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for RAF 03: Mendes vs. Chandler | ||||
| Promotion | Real American Freestyle | |||
| Date | November 29, 2025 | |||
| Venue | Wintrust Arena | |||
| City | Chicago, Illinois | |||
| Attendance | 5,000[1] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
RAF 03: Mendes vs. Chandler was a freestyle wrestling event that took place on November 29, 2025 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.[2]
It was the third flagship event produced by the Real American Freestyle (RAF) promotion, and aired live on Fox Nation.
Background
[edit]A middleweight bout between former three-time Bellator Lightweight World Champion (also a former UFC lightweight title challenger) Michael Chandler and former UFC Featherweight Championship challenger Chad Mendes headlined the event.[3]
Tickets for the event went on sale through Ticketmaster on October 24, 2025.[4]
Commentary for the event's live Fox Nation broadcast was provided by Kurt Angle, Cyrus Fees, Julianna Peña, and Chael Sonnen.[5]
Virginia Tech Hokies prospect Bo Bassett debuted at the event, making him the first active high school wrestler to compete in RAF.[2]
Corey Anderson suffered an injury prior to the event, and was replaced by Joaquin Buckley.[6]
Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau appeared during the broadcast and challenged RAF Cruiserweight Champion Kyle Dake to a future match, which took place at RAF 05.[1]
It was the first RAF event with matches available for betting through major sportsbooks.[7] Alexis Gomez, Jordan Oliver, and Andriy Yatsenko won their matches despite being favored to lose.[8]
Results
[edit]| Main card (Fox Nation) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Middleweight |  Michael Chandler |
def. | Chad Mendes |
Decision (4–1) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Women's Middleweight | Kennedy Blades |
def. |  Alejandra Rivera |
Technical fall (11–0) | 2 | 1:18 | [a] |
| Heavyweight |  Akhmed Tazhudinov |
def. | Anthony Cassioppi |
Pinfall | 2 | 1:39 | |
| Bantamweight |  Andriy Yatsenko |
def. | Spencer Lee |
Pinfall | 3 | 1:59 | |
| Lightweight | Austin Gomez |
def. | Austin O'Connor |
Decision (9–1) | 3 | 2:00 | [b] |
| Featherweight | Jordan Oliver |
def. | Real Woods (c) |
Decision (criteria) (2–2) | 3 | 2:00 | [c] |
| Catchweight (160 lbs.) | Cayden Henschel |
def. | Clay Guida |
Technical fall (11–0) | 3 | 0:37 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Pat Downey |
def. | Joaquin Buckley |
Technical fall (12–0) | 1 | 1:13 | |
| Women's Middleweight | Alexis Gomez |
def. | Bella Mir |
Decision (7–3) | 3 | 2:00 | |
| Featherweight | Bo Bassett |
def. | Darrion Caldwell |
Pinfall | 1 | 1:00 | |
- ↑ For the inaugural RAF Women's Middleweight Championship.
- ↑ RAF Lightweight title eliminator.
- ↑ For the RAF Featherweight Championship.
Bonus awards
[edit]The following athletes received bonuses.
- Match of the Night: Alexis Gomez vs. Bella Mir
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]
- Official website
- "RAF 03" at Apple TV
- "RAF 03" at Fox Nation
- "RAF 03" at IMDb
- "RAF 03" at Tapology
- "RAF 03" on YouTube
References
[edit]- 1 2 Smith, Earl (November 30, 2025). "Two New Champions Crowned in Surprising RAF 03 Card". InterMat. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
- 1 2 Brunt, Cliff (October 17, 2025). "High school wrestling star Bo Bassett to make Real American Freestyle debut at RAF3 in Chicago". Associated Press. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
- ↑ Damon Martin (2025-11-30). "Michael Chandler shuts down Chad Mendes in RAF 3 main event, Joaquin Buckley and Clay Guida get blanked". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2026-07-22.
- ↑ "Real American Freestyle Wrestling". Wintrust Arena. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
- ↑ Behunin, Alexander (November 27, 2025). "RAF 03 card, start time, date and location". MMA Mania. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ↑ Cruz, Guilherme (November 13, 2025). "Joaquin Buckley supports Kamaru Usman next for UFC title, complains no one calls him out: 'I'm like Voldemort'". MMA Fighting. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
- ↑ Brunt, Cliff (November 4, 2025). "Real American Freestyle partners with ALT Sports Data to bring sports betting to wrestling league". Associated Press. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ↑ "Best Bets: RAF 03 Pre-Event Odds Analysis". NXTbets. November 28, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
- ↑ Real American Freestyle (2025-11-29). "RAF 3: Mendes vs. Chandler". realamericanfreestyle.com. Retrieved 2026-07-25.
- ↑ Immel, Richard (November 30, 2025). "Blades, Oliver earn championship belts, Lee upset at RAF 03 in Chicago". USA Wrestling. Retrieved November 30, 2025.