Brawl After Khamzat Chimaev Win Over Dillon Danis Highlights Energetic Night for Combat Sports in St. Louis
St. Louis, MO – A brawl broke out on the stage of Real American Freestyle’s RAF 10 event after Khamzat Chimaev pinned Dillon Danis for a win at the Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. The scuffle felt like an exclamation point on a big night for wrestling.
“Keep all wrestling on the stage,” RAF executive Chad Bronstein said after the event. “The show was amazing before we got to that issue.”
In a town captivated by newer teams (such as the UFL’s Battlehawks or City SC) the Real American Freestyle (RAF) campaign showed off what could be yet another sport growing on the east side of Missouri.
“Kids were going crazy. The environment was nuts. St. Louis delivered on the crowd,” Bronstein said.
RAF enticed fans with a new mix of combat sports that will not be seen in the boxing ring or the octagon. A wrestling event, RAF 10 featured 11 total matchups, ranging fights by weight from “strawweight” to “heavyweight.” Fans were gathered with stripes representing flags from places like Armenia, the UAE and of course, the United States.
The night’s main event featured Khamzat Chimaev and New Jersey native Dillon Danis against each other. After Chimaev pinned Danis only a couple minutes into the match, an entourage from both fighters’ parties stormed the stage and concluded the show with a scuffle.
“What we saw tonight was not what we want to grow and it will be addressed going forward,” RAF executive Eric Bischoff said when speaking of the post-match fight.
Before Chimaev beat Danis in the main event, the crowd was entertained by many preliminary matches. 29-year-old Arman Tsarukyan beat Tony Ferguson 10-0. In the Strawweight Interim Championship Match, Lucia Yepez handled Kendra Ryan 11-1. In the Bantamweight Championship Match, American Austin Desanto defeated Reineri Ortega 3-1 in three rounds.
Several big-time names appeared inside Chaifetz Arena on Saturday night. IFBB Pro and Instagram sensation Larry Wheels was amongst the crowd for a between match interview. In addition, former UFC fighter and Missouri alum Ben Askren spoke on the floor. Askren was recently inducted into the National wrestling Hall of Fame.
“Ninety-eight percent of what you saw actually knocked it out of the park for us. We were so proud of what we’d done all the way up to that point. So, we’ll address the issue. We’ll fix it. We’ll correct it and, like any other sport, we will continue to grow,” Bischoff said.
RAF is hoping to draw more eyeballs with its recent additions. Olympic gold medalist and world champion Jordan Burroughs recently signed and will debut at RAF 12 in Cleveland. Gable Stevenson (who won gold for the United States in the Tokyo Olympics) also signed in March. The signings add more talent alongside stars like Chimaev, Danis and Ferguson.
The next event for the wrestling league will be RAF Georgia in Tbilisi on July 11. After, RAF 11 will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 18.
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