WRESTLING – Bahrain’s reigning Olympic champion and former world champion Akhmed Tazhudinov will be facing off with ex-Olympic gold-medallist and four-time world champion Kyle Snyder from the US in a title bout at Real American Freestyle (RAF) Moscow, to be held on September 5 in the Russian capital.
RAF is a US-based freestyle wrestling promotion that debuted in 2025. It was founded by a team that includes popular American pro wrestler and actor Hulk Hogan.
Tazhudinov’s clash with Snyder is a rematch of their head-to-head in RAF Seven, held in Tampa, Florida, in the US in March of this year.
The contest ended tied 3-3 on points, but Snyder was awarded the criteria victory in front of his home crowd.
Based on unique RAF rules, the last points scored in a match is the decisive factor in the event of a tie, whereas in amateur wrestling, criteria typically prioritises highest value holds, then the least amount of cautions, followed by the last points.
It was Tazhudinov’s first loss to Snyder in three meetings in their careers, while Snyder also became the RAF’s new light heavyweight champion.
The 2016 Olympic gold-medallist will now be looking to hold on to his title belt in Moscow.
Prior to their first RAF showdown, Tazhudinov had won against Snyder in both their meetings in top international events.
Tazhudinov defeated Snyder in the semi-finals of the men’s 97kg freestyle wrestling competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics, winning 6-4 and going on to capture Olympic gold against Georgia’s Givi Matcharashvili.
That came after Tazhudinov pulled off a shocking 11-0 technical fall win over Snyder at the 2023 world championships in Belgrade, Serbia, where they locked horns in the elite eight in their maiden career battle.
The pair are two of the biggest names in international freestyle wrestling today, with 23-year-old Tazhudinov widely considered to be the world’s best pound-for-pound wrestler.
He was previously in action last month at the Polyak Imre, Varga Janos, and Kozma Istvan Memorial, also known as the Budapest Ranking Series under United World Wrestling (UWW), held in Hungary.
Tazhudinov captured the gold medal in the men’s 97kg freestyle category in only his second appearance in a UWW-sanctioned competition this year.
He earlier took part in the 2026 Senior Asian Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in April, where he came away with men’s 97kg freestyle bronze.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh