Clay Guida is among the extra revered, revered MMA fighters of the final 20-plus years, however he’s donning the singlet as soon as once more at RAF 6 and does so on February twenty eighth. ‘The Carpenter’ will conflict with Keelon Jimison, and when addressing how he’s doing heading into this distinctive contest for Actual American Freestyle, Guida mentioned [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Dylan, I’m doing very effectively. Thanks a lot for the superior intro. I actually recognize that. [laughs] Yeah, it’s onerous to imagine, man. You mentioned yeah, 20 years, man, or 20 plus years. It doesn’t appear that lengthy. It goes by fast. Yeah, it’s fairly cool to have the ability to type of; I say my profession’s type of come full circle. You recognize, we began wrestling at a younger age, then I wrestled in faculty, then transitioned to MMA.”
“For a few of people who know or don’t know, we type of hung up the gloves, in 2025. Now we picked up our wrestling sneakers once more right here in 2026 or on the finish of 2025. Now heading into our second RAF occasion coming Saturday night time stay from Tempe, Arizona. Man, it’s going to be superior.”
Some had been not sure if there was a return plan to MMA for Guida after being launched by the UFC after a prolonged tenure. When requested if he was formally hanging up the gloves and simply placing on the wrestling singlet now, Guida said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Positive. You recognize, I’m not fully in opposition to having one other battle. Simply it most likely wouldn’t be underneath the UFC banner sadly. Liked competing for them, you understand, it was superb, however you understand how it’s. You bought to battle your means again in there as effectively, you understand what I imply, to get again underneath contract with them.”
“Which is deservedly so and that’s the way it ought to be. However yeah, if there was a battle that made sense in opposition to a formidable opponent and timing clever, yeah, I’m undoubtedly not in opposition to it. However within the meantime, we’ve been having loads of enjoyable getting again to our wrestling roots and yeah, being again within the wrestling health club, man. It’s been superior.”
Clay Guida says RAF “provides [wrestlers] that enviornment to stay out their childhood goals”
RAF has been giving skilled alternatives the place wrestlers with an amazing beginner wrestling base don’t need to go proper into MMA to make some money. When touching upon what Actual American Freestyle is doing to create extra pathways for high quality wrestlers to specific their craft on an expert athletics degree, Guida quipped [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Completely. To me, that’s the larger image on this. For these younger up and comers, for the game of wrestling, for women and men, it provides them one other avenue. As a result of right here’s the deal, not everyone needs to go get in a cage and get punched and kicked within the head to make a dwelling, to have enjoyable, for no matter. Not everyone needs to enter skilled wrestling and go soar off a 4 foot prime rope and get landed on or land on somebody that’s 250 or 300 lbs, you understand, an enormous athlete.”
“So, that’s not for everyone. On the identical token too, not everybody’s going to be an Olympian. Or be an Olympic gold medalist or medalist and have the ability to possibly make a dwelling off of their title, their endorsements, their efficiency, and issues like that, too.”
“So RAF has actually been that avenue, been that platform for athletes like myself and different up-and-coming wrestlers or different established wrestlers that need to nonetheless compete professionally however not in a sure enviornment. So this offers them that enviornment to stay out their childhood goals and say, “Hey, I’m an expert wrestler, you understand.”
