Professional wrestling is returning to its competitive roots, and Georgia is set to become the proving ground for an ambitious global expansion. Real American Freestyle, a rapidly growing wrestling promotion challenging the entertainment focused model that has dominated the sport for decades, announced Wednesday that it will stage its first event outside North America on July 11 in Tbilisi, featuring a blockbuster matchup between local hero Merab Dvalishvili and American champion Henry Cejudo, both former UFC titleholders.
For years, the professional wrestling landscape has been dominated by scripted entertainment spectacles from organizations like World Wrestling Entertainment. RAF is attempting soing fundamentally different: creating a legitimate competitive platform where amateur and collegiate wrestlers can transition to professional careers without abandoning the sport’s athletic integrity. The promotion uses a three round format with two minute periods, a points based scoring system, and the possibility of instant victory through pinfall, offering mixed martial artists a less physically punishing alternative to cage fighting.
Chad Bronstein, CEO and co-founder of RAF, emphasized the strategic importance of choosing Georgia for this international debut. “Wrestling has always been a global sport. What it has lacked is a global platform,” Bronstein said in a statement. “RAF was built to ce that. Georgia is home to some of the greatest wrestlers in the world and one of the proudest wrestling cultures anywhere. We couldn’t imagine a better place to launch our international expansion.”
The selection of Tbilisi carries significant cultural weight. Wrestling occupies a central place in Georgian national identity, with the country producing generations of Olympic and world championship medalists. Tevdore Makashvilli, RAF’s country lead for Georgia, described the sport as “a part of Georgia’s identity” and expressed hope that the promotion would provide former Olympic wrestlers with opportunities to extend their competitive careers beyond amateur competition. “Our athletes have spent decades proving themselves on the Olympic and world stage, and now RAF is bringing a new level of opportunity, visibility, and excitement to the sport,” Makashvilli explained.
RAF’s model holds particular appeal for mixed martial artists with strong wrestling backgrounds. Many current and former UFC fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier, built their championship runs on wrestling foundations developed long before they entered the octagon. The promotion’s upcoming cards already feature an impressive roster of crossover talent, including former UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev and recently retired contender Colby Covington, alongside the Dvalishvili and Cejudo headliners in Georgia.
As freestyle wrestling enjoys widespread popularity across North America, Europe, and Asia, RAF’s expansion into international markets could reshape how elite wrestlers view their career trajectories. The Tbilisi event represents more than just a single competition; it signals a potential paradigm shift in professional wrestling, one that prioritizes athletic competition over choreographed entertainment. Whether RAF can sustain this model globally while competing against elished entertainment juggernauts remains to be seen, but the Georgia launch will provide an early test of whether authentic competition can capture aunces in markets where wrestling culture runs deep.
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