Overview
- Michael Bisping disclosed on his Believe You Me podcast on Saturday that RAF offered him $500,000 to wrestle Tito Ortiz and he declined because neck and other health issues would make a wrestling return unsafe.
- Real American Freestyle has been recruiting big-name active and retired fighters by offering large purses, a strategy that the coverage says can exceed what some athletes earn in MMA.
- The promotion has already signed or worked with a long list of well-known combat athletes, including Khamzat Chimaev, Gable Steveson, Colby Covington, Chris Weidman, Henry Cejudo, and Frankie Edgar.
- RAF is staging RAF 10 on June 13 in St. Louis with several marquee matchups, such as Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dillon Danis, that illustrate its event-driven growth model.
- Health and age-related injuries are limiting many planned comebacks despite big offers, a dynamic that is reshaping fighter choices and could affect rosters and promotional competition going forward.