By Philip O'Connor
June 3 (Reuters) - Fast-growing wrestling promotion Real American Freestyle (RAF) is taking its concept to the global stage with the announcement of a first event outside of North America that will take place in Tbilisi, Georgia and feature a pair of former UFC champions in local favourite Merab Dvalishvili and American Henry Cejudo.
While the professional wrestling scene around the world has long been dominated by scripted wrestling shows put on by promoters such as World Wrestling
Entertainment (WWE), RAF intends to return the sport to its competitive roots and provide a path for amateur and collegiate wrestlers to go pro.
"Wrestling has always been a global sport. What it has lacked is a global platform," Chad Bronstein, CEO and co-founder of RAF, said in a statement announcing the July 11 event in Tbilisi on Wednesday.
"RAF was built to change that. Georgia is home to some of the greatest wrestlers in the world and one of the proudest wrestling cultures anywhere. We couldn't imagine a better place to launch our international expansion."
A hugely popular sport in North America, Europe and Asia, freestyle wrestling offers mixed martial artists like Dvalishvili and former Olympic wrestling champion Cejudo a way of competing that is less punishing than MMA.
Many current and former MMA fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier have successfully leveraged their wrestling base to become UFC champions, and RAF's upcoming cards will feature the likes of former UFC middleweight champ Khamzat Chimaev and the recently retired Colby Covington.
Under RAF rules, each bout takes place over three two-minute rounds with a points-scoring system, and a match can be ended instantly if a wrestler can pin their opponent's shoulders to the mat.
Describing wrestling as "a part of Georgia's identity", RAF country lead for Georgia Tevdore Makashvilli said he hoped that the upcoming event would provide an outlet for former Olympic wrestlers to continue with the sport.
"Our athletes have spent decades proving themselves on the Olympic and world stage, and now RAF is bringing a new level of opportunity, visibility, and excitement to the sport," Makashvilli said.
(Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
