Ray Lewis could be the latest prominent crossover athlete to grace
the Real American Freestyle mat.

RAF co-founders Chad Bronstein and Izzy Martinez recently revealed
that discussions are underway for the Hall of Famer to compete for
the promotion before the end of 2026.

Ray Lewis is in discussions to compete for Real American
Freestyle before the end of 2026

Lewis, who has a legitimate background in wrestling, may soon make
his debut in RAF, as there are ongoing discussions between the
former professional football linebacker and the wrestling
promotion. Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight titleholder
Tyron
Woodley, who has competed twice for RAF, is helping facilitate
the crossover.

He was a state wrestling champion in high school and has credited
the sport for aiding his National Football League career.

According to MMA Fighting, a deal hasn't been finalized, but
the two sides are moving in a positive direction.

Muhammad
Mokaev was offered an opportunity to compete under the
Ultimate Fighting Championship banner again, but declined.

Mokaev, who controversially exited the UFC in 2024, has revealed
that he was offered a UFC BJJ title match against Mikey
Musumeci. He recently detailed turning down the matchup as he
continues to campaign for a return to the promotion's flyweight
mixed martial arts division.

Muhammad Mokaev says UFC BJJ title fight against Mikey Musumeci
came without MMA return

Speaking to BBC Sport, Mokaev said that the issue wasn't
with the opponent he was offered. Instead, he objected to the UFC’s
reluctance to link the grappling appearance to a full return to the
roster.

According to Mokaev, he was offered $10,000 to compete against
Musumeci in UFC BJJ and was prepared to accept the matchup if it
came with a UFC contract afterward. When the promotion indicated
that the grappling appearance was separate from its MMA plans, “The
Punisher†declined.

“They said, ‘No, this is different. BJJ is different. This is
different. We have other plans.' I told them where to go,†Mokaev
said.

The UFC opted against re-signing Mokaev (17-0) after his lackluster
win over top-ranked 125-pounder Manel Kape.
Despite boasting a perfect record, the Dagestan-born Brit's
pre-fight antics seemingly turned top promotional execs against
him. He has since picked up four more wins, while staying active in
grappling and wrestling matches.

Islam Makhachev usurped Anderson Silva's win streak record in the UFC but the welterweight champion's run is not quite the same as ‘The Spider', per a rising 170 pound combatant. Daniil Donchenko is the fighter in question and the former TUF champion discussed this before his recent victory at UFC Paris.

With the win over Punahele Soriano that puts him on a strong path upward in the 170 pound hierarchy, when asked for his thoughts on Makhachev's welterweight title defense at UFC 330 against Ian Machado Garry, Donchenko said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“Yes. I saw this match, Ian Garry and what I thought that Ian, he just was not ready to be a champion. He just was not ready to win this fight. How I say before, it's all in our head and Ian Garry was not a champion in his head in this day. So to be honest it was not spectacular fight for me. I was not like really enjoying the fight but it is what it is. Makhachev [is] champion. He beat Anderson Silva.â€

“But if we will compare 18 wins from Anderson Silva and 18 wins from Makhachev, it's different kind of wins, different spectacular stuff. Anderson Silva, he was like crazy highlights and stuff. Knockout wins and Makhachev in this division, he have more like decision wins. But he's a champion, he's number one pound for pound.â€

Islam Makhachev and the one UFC welterweight who would truly push the pace on him, according to Donchenko

Further delving into his analysis on who could push Islam Makhachev in the UFC's welterweight ranks, Donchenko continued [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“I just think until he fight [Yaroslav] Amosov because no to be honest like of course Amosov can have like hard fight with everyone from top five. Like Makhachev, he had like hard fight with Ian Gary. Even if Garry, he didn't work that much but it was hard fight.â€

“But then [Yaroslav] Amosov will fight with Makhachev. If it will happen, he have much better striking and he is grappling, he will not defend against Makhachev, he will attack him. You should not wait. ‘Amosov have very good takedown defense, he will defend against Makhachev.' No, he will attack. So yeah.â€

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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