Wyatt Hendrickson left no doubt that he’s the top heavyweight in the United States after he dominated 2024 Olympian Mason Parris in the RAF 4 main event.
The 2024 NCAA champion, who beat Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson in the finals, came up short in his appearance at the World Championships but came storming back with his performance on Saturday.
Hendrickson came out firing right away with a quick takedown to start the match but Parris managed a well-timed reversal to tie the match at 2-2 in the first perion. It turns out, those would be the only points Parris scored.
Hendrickson was relentless with his offensive wrestling as he continued to come after Parris and he was just incredibly quick to grab a leg and then adjust for the takedown. The points came fast and furious with Hendrickson securing another takedown and then hitting the turn for a four-point move that put the score at 13-2 for the tech fall victory.
It was a statement making performance from Hendrickson, who has said repeatedly that he wants to represent the U.S. at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Taking out the U.S. representative from the 2024 games is a strong indication that Hendrickson has a great chance to get there.
Following his latest win as RAF heavyweight champion, Hendrickson turned his attention to a couple of influencers with wrestling backgrounds as potential opponents for the future.
“I was watching some highlights this morning of a fight that happened yesterday on Netflix,” Hendrickson said. “I’ll tell you what that Jake Paul guy looked like he was shooting more double legs than he was doing boxing. I want to see that man here.
“If not him, he loves going for heavyweights but his brother Logan [Paul], if he wants it, I’m right here. Always. Any time. Anywhere. I will be there.”
In his first match back in wrestling in over 20 years, Yoel Romero turned back the clock with a stunning performance against Pat Downey in the co-main event.
When the match started, Romero pulled a great reversal into a throw that led to a takedown with exposure that put him up 4-0 at the end of the first round. With a push out and another takedown, Romero pushed his lead to 6-0 but he wasn’t done yet.
Romero continued to pour on the points with Downey just trying not to get shut out but he was unable to shut down the Cuban. Already in control, Romero kept up with the pressure and as he was pushing Downey towards the boundary he lifted the Penn State alum and tossed him to the ground again to hit a four-point score to end the match.
The final was 12-0 with Romero getting the tech fall over Downey.
It was an unreal performance from the one-time Olympic silver medalist as he didn’t skip a beat in his return to wrestling at 48 years old. Following the win, Romero called out UFC middleweight Bo Nickal, who was supposed to be his opponent on Saturday until he was forced off the event and replaced by Downey.
“See you soon, boy,” Romero said with plans to face Nickal at RAF 5 in Miami on Jan. 10. “See you in Miami. Remember, Miami is my house. I am waiting for you in Miami. See you soon, boy.”
David Carr made quick work of former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad after he accepted a call out to crossover into the world of wrestling.
Taking on a two-time NCAA champion, Muhammad was battling long odds to get the win but he showed a strong effort trying to fend off Carr’s takedowns. Unfortunately, Carr was just too quick and he repeatedly scored with a slick double leg takedown to put Muhammad on the mat.
While Muhammad did manage to make it to the second period, Carr was dominant from start to finish after wrapping up the match with another takedown to earn a technical fall with a 10-0 shutout.
Afterwards, Carr said he wanted to keep going against the top fighters in the UFC so he called out another former champion in Kamaru Usman, who was a NCAA Division II national champion in wrestling at Nebraska-Kearney.
Here are the full results from RAF 4:
MAIN EVENT: Wyatt Hendrickson def. Mason Parris, 13-2, tech fall
Yoel Romero def. Pat Downey, 12-0, tech fall
David Carr def. Belal Muhammad 10-0, tech fall
Kennedy Blades def. Alara Boyd, 10-0, tech fall
Kadik def. Dustin Plott, 11-7
Dean Hamiti def. Evan Wick via pin
Parker Keckeisen def. Zahid Valencia, 10-2
Trent Hidlay def. Jacob Cardenas, 5-3
Jason Nolf def.. Andy Varela, 10-0 tech fall
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