- Headlines say Russia bans wrestlers from RAF, but Khadzhimurat Gatsalov’s stance is a national-team selection rule — not a removal of every Russian competitor.
- Two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev is the man in the middle: reportedly six-figure RAF paydays on one side, his national-team spot on the other.
- RAF CEO Chad Bronstein says the Russian roster is unchanged, and Sadulaev is still advertised for the Nov 14 Abu Dhabi card.
- No withdrawal has been confirmed — Sadulaev vs Dauren Kurugliev remains on the card, for now.
Russia Bans Wrestlers From RAF? What Gatsalov Actually Said
Russia’s freestyle wrestling program has drawn a line. After the World Championships in Astana — where the Russian team collected 14 medals, four of them gold — head coach Khadzhimurat Gatsalov said the three national-team members who had competed in the American promotion Real American Freestyle did not finish their planned preparation.
The three: Ismail Khaniyev, Ibragim Kadiev and two-time Olympic champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev.
Three guys — Khaniyev, Kadeev and Sadulaev — who wrestled in RAF didn’t get through a full preparation. We were in the mountains, we needed to build volume and physical conditioning. And they were preparing for RAF.
– Khadzhimurat Gatsalov –
The part that matters is the remedy. Gatsalov framed it as both the federation’s position and his own: anyone who qualifies for the national team through the Russian Championships will only be cleared to compete in ranking tournaments chosen by the coaching staff. That is a selection and preparation stance aimed at the national squad — not a directive that strips every Russian off RAF’s roster.
I won’t. Or we’ll consider the second- or third-ranked wrestler. It’s a tough stance.
– Khadzhimurat Gatsalov –
Gatsalov’s fix is more domestic reps, not fewer matches. He said that from next year, beginning with the Yarygin tournament, every national-team member will wrestle the full slate of ranking events. The immediate trigger is performance: Sadulaev missed the Russian Championships through injury and, by Gatsalov’s telling, reached Worlds short of full preparation — dropping a 4-4 criteria decision to Kyle Snyder before taking bronze at 97kg.
How RAF Money Changed the Math
The stance makes little sense without the money. Real American Freestyle has rewritten what an Olympic-level wrestler can earn in a single night, and the figures being floated are the real subplot. Olympic champion Zaurbek Sidakov has said RAF offered him roughly $80,000 per match — several times what he makes domestically.
Reports around Sadulaev are even starker: six-figure appearance fees plus separate six-figure win bonuses. For scale, Russia’s official reward for an Olympic gold has been reported around 4 million rubles, meaning a single RAF appearance could pay close to four times that.
None of these numbers are confirmed contracts — they are what athletes and people close to the talks have described. It is the same big-money pitch that Urijah Faber has credited with changing American wrestling’s business.
RAF’s Response and the Nov 14 Abu Dhabi Card
RAF’s answer came a day later. CEO and co-founder Chad Bronstein released a written statement that does not name Gatsalov but pushes back hard on the idea that the Russians are gone.
RAF continues to welcome the world’s best wrestlers and Russian athletes remain an important part of our roster.
– Chad Bronstein, RAF CEO and co-founder –
Bronstein pointed to upcoming events in Abu Dhabi, Chicago and New York where Russian wrestlers — including current and former world champions — are scheduled to appear. On the Nov 14 RAF Abu Dhabi card at Etihad Arena, Sadulaev is still matched against Dauren Kurugliev in a light heavyweight contest. Umar Nurmagomedov and Urijah Faber are listed in a lightweight crossover bout, while Khamzat Chimaev versus Colby Covington headlines the show.
Crucially, neither Gatsalov’s stance nor Bronstein’s statement cancels a named bout. Sadulaev versus Kurugliev remains advertised. Whether it happens depends on a decision nobody has announced — and on which side of the money-versus-jersey line Sadulaev lands.
The Grappling Crossover
Whether Russia bans wrestlers from RAF outright or simply squeezes its national-team members into line, the crossover economics have already shifted. RAF built its cards on Olympic-level wrestling names, and the pay gap it exposed is not going back in the box. A federation can control a selection list; it cannot un-print a six-figure payday.
For grappling and MMA fans, the real watchpoint is Nov 14. If Sadulaev still walks to the mat against Kurugliev, the “ban” was a warning shot. If he is pulled, Gatsalov’s stance just became the most expensive loyalty test in modern freestyle wrestling.
