DUBAI: Wrestling has produced Olympic champions, world champions and some of mixed martial arts’ biggest stars, but for all that talent, the sport has rarely had a professional stage capable of keeping athletes and fans engaged throughout the year.
Real American Freestyle CEO and co-founder Chad Bronstein believes that is the opportunity in front of the promotion.
“The biggest thing is consistency,” Bronstein told Arab News recently. “Wrestling already has professional athletes and superstars. What it has never really had is a permanent home.”
Launched in August 2025, the RAF is trying to provide that home by combining elite wrestling with the crossover appeal of some of combat sports’ most recognizable names.
That approach will be on full display when the RAF makes its Middle East debut at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena on Nov. 14, bringing together UFC stars including Khamzat Chimaev, Colby Covington, Arman Tsarukyan and Umar Nurmagomedov, alongside some of the most decorated names in wrestling.
For Bronstein, the star power is an important starting point, but what happens after fans tune in for the first time is just as important.
“The stars get people in the door,” he said. “The job after that is to make sure the product is good enough that they come back for RAF. The athletes are powerful drivers of awareness. The RAF platform has to create retention.”
The Abu Dhabi card will also feature multiple championship bouts, adding competitive stakes to the mix of elite wrestling and crossover matchups that have become central to the RAF’s identity.
Bronstein believes the depth of talent has been a major factor in the promotion’s rapid growth.
“The biggest driver has been concentration of talent,” he said. “We have been able to bring together Olympic champions, world champions and major combat sports names in a format that feels modern, premium, fun and easy for fans to understand.”
The Abu Dhabi event comes just over a year after the RAF launched in the US and follows international events in Tbilisi and Moscow.
“We believed the market was there. What has surprised us is how quickly the model has validated,” Bronstein added.
Abu Dhabi, however, represents more than another stop on the RAF’s international calendar.
The Nov. 14 event will begin a five-year partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and the UAE Wrestling Federation, giving the promotion an opportunity to establish a long-term presence in a region Bronstein sees as a natural fit for the sport.
“Abu Dhabi is a big milestone for us because it shows that RAF is already becoming a global property,” he said.
“The region already has a real appetite for wrestling and combat sports, and Abu Dhabi has built the infrastructure and audience for major events.
“The five-year partnership gives us the ability to build a real presence in the region, develop local audiences, deepen federation relationships and create lasting value over time.”
The natural connection between wrestling and MMA is another important part of the RAF’s growth strategy.
Many elite MMA fighters have wrestling backgrounds, while fans of the two sports often overlap. The RAF is tapping into that relationship by giving established fighters another competitive stage and creating matchups that can appeal to audiences beyond traditional wrestling circles.
“A lot of elite MMA fighters came from wrestling and still love competing in it,” Bronstein said.
“RAF gives them another stage where they can stay active, compete under a different ruleset and create new matchups that fans already understand.”
The crossover can also help the RAF reach fans on both sides of the combat sports divide.
“At the same time, it exposes wrestling fans to personalities they may know from MMA and exposes MMA fans to high-level wrestling,” Bronstein said. “That crossover is good for everybody.”
But Bronstein’s vision for the RAF is not built solely around established stars.
The RAF NEXT GEN show will make its international debut in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 15, bringing together young wrestlers from different countries, with finalists earning the opportunity to compete on the same Etihad Arena stage as the professionals.
“From the beginning, we believed that building RAF meant elevating the entire sport,” Bronstein said.
“NEXT GEN is a big part of that because it gives young wrestlers a stage, a pathway and something tangible to aspire to.”
For Bronstein, developing the next generation is part of a much broader challenge. His vision is not simply to stage high-profile events, but to create a professional structure that athletes can progress through and fans can follow throughout the year.
“Wrestling has never had a problem with talent,” he said. “The missing piece has been a scalable commercial system around them.
“If you build that infrastructure and give fans a reason to follow the sport all year, not just during the Olympics or NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) season, the ceiling becomes much higher.”
Tickets for RAF Abu Dhabi at Etihad Arena on Nov. 14 are available through Ticketmaster.ae and Etihadarena.ae.