Kyle Dake is back and how. His victory over Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov from Belarus brought applause from fellow wrestlers like Rocco Welsh and Cayden Henschel, among others.
The Olympic bronze medalist opened his account at the RAF League in style by upstaging his arch-rival after an intense duel. Kadimagomedov had denied Dake a shot at the Olympic gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics. The American middleweight settled the scores by defeating the wrestler in the final minutes of the match to win the bout 10-7.
Rocco Welsh, Cayden Henschel, And Others React To Kyle Dake’s RAF Victory
Dake shared some photos of his RAF bout. The 34-year-old wrestler wrote in the caption of his Instagram post:
“RAF05 didn’t disappoint! I have so much to be thankful for! God, coaches, teammates, family, sponsors, and opponents!Big thank you to @rafwrestlingusa and @foxnation for putting on a great show!Philippians 4:6-7”
Penn State wrestler Rocco Welsh immediately responded to the post by sending a fire emoji in the comment section. Likewise, Cayden Henschel sent applause emojis in response to Dake’s new achievement.
READ MORE: Why Former Olympic Champion Gable Steveson Thinks the RAF Can Make Wrestling Bigger
U20 world champion and former NCAA champion David Carr dropped the following three-word reaction,
“God is good!”
For the uninitiated, the RAF is a professional wrestling league whose idea was conceptualized by former WWE legend Terry Gene Bollea, better known as Hulk Hogan. Unfortunately, Hogan succumbed to chronic leukemia in July 2025, only months before the league’s official inauguration.
Kyle Dake’s Overall Track Record As A Wrestler
Dake has an illustrious record as a wrestler, both in collegiate wrestling and international wrestling. The 34-year-old wrestler represented the Cornell Big Red in collegiate wrestling from 2010 to 2013, never losing a single championship despite increasing his weight in each category.
Dake attempted to qualify for the Rio Olympics, only to lose the chance by finishing second in the US Olympic trials. However, he didn’t give up and qualified for the Tokyo Olympics on his second attempt. Dake clinched the bronze medal, defeating Geandry Garzon and Frank Chamizo of Cuba and Italy, respectively, in the repechage bouts.
Dake also won five consecutive World Championship medals from 2018 to 2023. He won four gold medals in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022, before his streak was broken in the final round of the 2023 World Championships by Russian wrestler Zaurbek Sidakov, who had won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.