Michael Chandler and Chad Mendes went back to their roots in a wrestling match at RAF 3 last night.

Both men were accomplished collegiate wrestlers many years ago prior to turning their attention to MMA, with Mendes having the stronger pedigree as a two-time NCAA Division 1 All American and Pac-10 Conference champion.

However, while Chandler is still actively competing in the UFC, it’s been seven years since Mendes was last seen in the Octagon, though he did have a couple of bareknuckle boxing matches in 2022 and 2023.

And in the end it was Chandler who was able to win last nights wrestling match by 4-1, with the grimy positional battle even leading to Mendes suffering some swelling to his eye after being accidentally head-butted and eye-poked!

Elsewhere on the night two other UFC veterans suffered defeat, with Joaquin Buckley and Clay Guida both losing by technical fall to Pat Downey and Cayden Henschel respectively.

Also notable on the card was a surprise defeat for Frank Mir’s daughter Bella Mir, a highly regarded wrestler and potential future MMA star who lost 7-3 to Alexis Gomes just weeks after dominating her in another wrestling match.

Check out the full list of RAF 3 results below.

Michael Chandler def. Chad Mendes, 4-1

Kennedy Blades def. Alejandra Rivera, 11-0 tech fall

Akhmed Tazhudinov def. Anthony Cassioppi, via pin

Andrii Yatsenko def. Spencer Lee, via pin

Austin Gomez def. Austin O’Connor, 9-1

Jordan Oliver def. Real Woods, 2-2 (wins by criteria)

Cayden Henschel def. Clay Guida, 11-0, tech fall

Pat Downey def. Joaquin Buckley, 12-0 tech fall

Alexis Gomez def. Bella Mir, 7-3

Bo Bassett def. Darrion Caldwell via pin