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RAF 11 live blog: Ben Askren vs. Belal Muhammad

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RAF 11 live blog: Ben Askren vs. Belal Muhammad

This is the live blog for Ben Askren vs. Belal Muhammad, the co-main event wrestling match at Saturday's RAF 11 card in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

A two-time NCAA Div. 1 national champion and two-time Dan Hodge trophy winner, Askren is one of the most accomplished wrestlers to ever fight in MMA, also competing in the 2008 Olympics. Askren parlayed that wrestling ability into world championships for ONE and Bellator, before finally moving to the UFC for a short run before retiring. Unfortunately, tragedy struck Askren last year when he was hospitalized with severe pneumonia, ultimately requiring a lung transplant. Now back to health, Askren is taking this match as a one-off, a bout that seems more about its message than the result of the match.

A former UFC welterweight champion, Muhammad wrestled in high school but not past that, though his MMA career was defined by his wrestling chops. Muhammad also has history with Askren, training with him during their MMA careers, making this bout perhaps less of a heated engagement than a fun farewell match for Askren.

Check out the live blog for Tsarukyan vs. Covington below.

Here comes Belal first. Fireworks and Muhammad is hyped up for this match. But Ben Askren is next as the crowd goes nuts. The comeback story is real here and the crowd is eating it up. Belal Muhammad won't have many friends in the crowd tonight. Ben Askren soaking it in before he walks to the mat for what is perhaps the final time. The fact that Askren is here is insane in its own way.

The announcer is giving the crowd the introductions and here we go!

Askren is commanding the center early and forcing Belal to shoot first. Funk soon? Askren is tying up against Belal and actually looks strong. Muhammad gets put on the shot clock early. Belal shoots from too far out and fails. Askren gets on the board early with Belal Muhammad failing to score on the clock. Askren shucks Muhammad by.

End of the round, Ben Askren is up 1-0.

Second period begins and Belal comes out more active. Muhammad shoots and fails to get though to the legs of Askren. Ben Askren shoots on the hips and scores on Muhammad with a push out! This is crazy that it's not over! Another point for Askren as he throws Muhammad out at the edge with the whizzer. Muhammad jumps in on a front head lock and Askren does a good job of reastling up and stays square. Askren is looking fantastic!

We are two periods through and Belal Muhammad has not scored yet! Askren up 3-0!

THIRD PERIOD! LET'S GO! Askren shoots and Muhammad stuffs. Muhammad shoots and gets the double leg to score two. One point spread!. Askren shoots again to another Belal sprawl. Askren looking for some funk but the referee calls it a stale mate. Askren scores again and Belal sprawls again. Belal Muhammad gets the go-behind. He's now up 4-3. Down to 30! ANY MAGIC? Askren shoots on the single and gets sprawled on again. Muhammad looking for the go behind again. Looks like Muhammad scores two but Askren's coach throws the brick. Doesn't matter, Muhammad wins!

Insane wrestling from both sides to see what Askren comes from. He looks anguished on the side but Ben Askren put on a fantastic performance.

Belal Muhammad defeats Ben Askren, 6-3.

“It's Ben's birthday. He came back from death. This should be a standing ovation,†Muhammad says in his post fight interview with Chael Sonnen. “Every day you have a new day of sunlight, that's a new day to live, a new day to fight.â€

Belal Muhammad continues, “We got a bitch going into the main event, his name is Colby Covington. I will find him and I will stomp on his neck until he stops breathing.â€

Now the arena is singing Happy Birthday to Askren. Chael got some pipes.

We've moved to Askren's interview. “I get tired fast these days,†says Askren who just went three rounds with a former UFC welterweight champion.

“For sure my last time on the mat. I love you guys, I really do,†Askren says as he takes his shoes off to leave on the mat a final time. Ben Askren's “I worked hard as shit in the last year,†Askren said. His comeback was incredible and as he leaves his shoes in the middle of the mat, the crowd goes crazy.

Ben Askren's career is a peculiar one. Not the most athletic, he became an American legend with his mind. His patented funk wrestling changed the mind of the “experts†who thought they knew how to wrestle. A World Champion and an Olympian, Askren's impact will never be forgotten.

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RAF 13 adds matchup between Luke Rockhold and Joe Pyfer

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RAF 13 adds matchup between Luke Rockhold and Joe Pyfer

Luke Rockhold returns to the Real American Freestyle mats next month.

On Sunday, RAF announced that Rockhold will face current top-15 middleweight Joe Pyfer in a catchweight bout at RAF 13 on Sep. 19 at Watsco Center in Miami.

A former UFC middleweight champion, Rockhold made his RAF debut at RAF 5 in January, where he lost by tech fall to Colby Covington. Rockhold does not have a significant wrestling background, though he did wrestle in high school and at community college before transitioning to grappling and MMA. Rockhold retired from MMA in 2022 and has spent the past several years trying his hand in various other combat sports.

Currently ranked No. 9 in MMA Fighting's Global middleweight rankings, Pyfer has a similar wrestling background to Rockhold, having mostly participated in the sport in high school, though he also has some experience in professional grappling events. Most recently, Pyfer knocked out former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya at UFC Seattle in March. This will be Pyfer's first match in RAF.

RAF 13 is supposed to be headlined by a cruiserweight crossover championship grudge match between Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad.

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Tommy McMillen battles fellow undefeated prospect at Noche UFC

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Tommy McMillen battles fellow undefeated prospect at Noche UFC

Tommy McMillen is getting his wish, but is now set for his toughest test to date.

McMillen, the longtime teammate and protégé of former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley, faces Marwan Rahiki at the promotion's annual Noche UFC card on Sept. 12 in Glendale, Ariz. UFC's broadcast partner Paramount+ announced the bout on social media.

The 28-year-old McMillen called for a spot on the card in his home state following a record-setting performance in stopping Alberto Montes at UFC Oklahoma City in July. After earning a contract on the Contender Series this past September, “Gun†had a successful debut with a first-round finish of Manolo Zecchini at April's UFC Vegas 115 card.

Rahiki has entered fans' radars with a very aggressive finishing style inside the octagon. The 24-year-old has a pair of stoppage wins over Harry Hardwick and Ollie Schmid to kick off his octagon career.

Noche UFC is headlined by Jean Silva vs. Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight showdown.

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Quillan Salkilld details potential injury following submission finish over Mateusz Gamrot: "I actually felt it"

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Quillan Salkilld details potential injury following submission finish over Mateusz Gamrot: "I actually felt it"

Quillan Salkilld delivered an emphatic first-round finish at UFC Vegas 120, but he may not have walked away unscathed.

Salkilld met his biggest name to date in Mateusz Gamrot this past Saturday. The Contender Series alum delivered by securing a first-round submission finish via rear-naked choke. The 26-year-old is on a fast track towards top five competition, as Gamrot was the No. 6-ranked lightweight on the Meta rankings panel entering the bout.

While Salkilld has raised his stock significantly, he'll be hoping to avoid time on the shelf amid a possible injury. Salkilld appeared on the UFC Vegas 120 post-show on Paramount+, and he recalled the moment he might've been injured (via MMAFighting).

“There was a wrestling exchange at the start where he grabbed my ankle,†Salkilld said. “If it was training, I would have kind of gone with it to not hurt the knee. He had my ankle and it turned to like 90 degrees. Because I was being stubborn in that position, I didn't want to accept any bad position. I turned into it and forced it. Usually I didn't want to do that because I'm always scared about hurting my knee in training.

“This one, I just went into it and heard a little pop. Even when I had that rear-naked choke, I actually felt it. I was like f*ck, if I don't get this, my knee's going to be sore later. In round two or three, it would have been [sore]. It's a bit sore now.â€

Salkilld has been perfect ever since suffering a submission loss in his first pro MMA bout in early 2021. In addition to his 13-fight winning streak, Salkilld has finished his last four fights in the opening round. That includes a nasty head kick knockout over Nasrat Haqparast.

If Quillan Salkilld can avoid being sidelined, who should he fight next? Drop your opinion in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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