RAF 12 wrestling card held in Cleveland; Nickal loses first match since 2020, Woodley defeats Buckley

Key facts

RAF 12 held Aug. 22, 2026 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on FOX Nation
Bo Nickal lost to 2026 NCAA champion Max McEnelly 3-2 in a catchweight match; Nickal’s first loss since 2020 Olympic trials
Tyron Woodley defeated Joaquin Buckley 14-8 after coming back from being down 8-0 in the opening period
Main event: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo 2 rematch (results not yet confirmed in sources)
Jordan Burroughs faced Sean Brady in co-main event catchweight bout; Gable Steveson beat Anthony Cassioppi 6-0

RAF 12 card details and location

Real American Freestyle held its one-year anniversary event, RAF 12, on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, streaming live from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, exclusively on FOX Nation. The card kicked off at 8 p.m. ET.

Bo Nickal’s first loss since 2020

Three-time NCAA champion Bo Nickal suffered his first wrestling loss since 2020 when he fell to 2026 NCAA champion Max McEnelly 3-2 in a catchweight bout. McEnelly, wrestling from the University of Minnesota despite giving up size to Nickal, won with a slick go-behind takedown in the early going and added points through passivity. Nickal scored a point from passivity but could not overcome the deficit; McEnelly withstood Nickal’s repeated takedown attempts in the third period and held on. Nickal’s previous loss came to Penn State teammate David Taylor during the 2020 Olympic trials. McEnelly called himself “a new star” after the victory and indicated interest in competing for a belt.

Woodley’s dramatic comeback against Buckley

Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley made his first return to the wrestling mats in nearly two decades, defeating Joaquin Buckley 14-8 in a 190-pound bout. Buckley, who missed weight by seven pounds and appeared notably larger than Woodley, opened with two throws in the first period to jump ahead 8-0. Woodley regrouped in the second period, chipping away with a series of pushouts, then executing a large takedown, gut wrench, and turn to level the match. In the third period, Woodley pulled off another takedown with four additional points to seal the win. Woodley noted he kept his composure after falling behind early—a situation he acknowledged he had struggled with during his MMA career. Woodley’s next scheduled bout is against fellow former UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev in Russia on Sept. 5.

Other results from the card

Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson defeated Anthony Cassioppi 6-0 in a 285-pound heavyweight match. Kennedy Blades beat Reese Larramendy via tech fall 11-0 at 150 pounds. Jason Nolf defeated Evan Wick via tech fall 11-1 for the Middleweight championship at 175 pounds. Jesse Mendez beat Vladimer Khinchegashvili 7-2 at 145 pounds. David Carr defeated Tajmuraz Salkazanov 5-4 at 165 pounds. Johnni DiJulius won against Asu Almabayev via tech fall 10-0 at 145 pounds. Kadik beat Will Lewan via injury at 175 pounds. Masanosuke Ono defeated Ben Davino 4-0 at 135 pounds.

Main and co-main events

The main event featured a rematch between former UFC champions Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo, competing for the RAF crossover championship. Dvalishvili won their first RAF meeting via unanimous decision last month in Georgia. Olympic wrestling legend Jordan Burroughs faced UFC welterweight Sean Brady in the co-main event catchweight bout. Results for both headlining matches were not finalized in the available sources at the time of reporting.

Sources

Featured photo by Harman Tatla on Unsplash