Real American Freestyle has quickly become a familiar landing spot for Nebraska wrestling names, and the Huskers’ footprint in the league keeps growing. The roster of current and former Nebraska standouts already includes James Green, Ridge Lovett, Brock Hardy, Antrell Taylor and Christopher Minto, and there’s more coming.
The biggest name still on the way is Jordan Burroughs. The seven-time World and Olympic Champion has signed with RAF and will headline the promotion’s one-year anniversary card, RAF 12, on August 22 against Sean Brady, the #5-ranked UFC Welterweight contender. Brady’s best-known strength is his ground game in the UFC, but this matchup looks like the kind RAF set up to let Burroughs shake off nearly two years away from competition.
Tonight, though, the spotlight falls on Minto. Nebraska’s reigning NCAA finalist will wrestle Keegan O’Toole in his second RAF appearance, with the bout set for 7 p.m. on the Fox Nation app at middleweight, 175 pounds.
Minto’s first RAF outing came in late May against Jason Nolf, a three-time NCAA Champion from Penn State and one of the most accomplished freestylers in the country. He lost that match 10-5, but he showed enough against a wrestler of Nolf’s caliber to leave a strong impression.
O’Toole brings a much different resume into this one. The Missouri star is a two-time NCAA Champion and owns U23 and U20 World gold medals in freestyle. He’s widely viewed as one of Team USA’s next senior-level threats, provided he stays healthy.
That makes Minto the clear underdog, but his strength and scrambling give him a live chance to make things interesting.
Hardy already made his latest statement in RAF Georgia last weekend. The four-time All-American squared off with Bahrain’s Alibeg Alibegov, a 2026 Asian bronze medalist from Dagestan, Russia, and handled the match after a shaky start.
Alibegov got the first exposure after Hardy shot in and was countered with a chest wrap. Hardy answered with a takedown, then rolled that into a leg lace and a gut wrench, and added a step-out point to build a 9-2 lead.
He kept pouring it on in the second period, adding two more takedowns on low singles and closing out a 13-2 technical superiority victory. The result puts Hardy firmly on the radar as a wrestler to watch at 65 kg next year.
Hardy’s freestyle résumé already includes wins over Alibegov, Bo Bassett, Sammy Alvarez and Goga Otinashvili of Georgia. He beat Bassett 12-7 at the 2025 World Team Trials, Alvarez 12-7 at U23 Worlds and Otinashvili 8-5 in the U23 bronze-medal match.
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Nebraska Cannot Keep Dodging This Running Back Question Much Longer
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The expectation now is that Nebraska will have to speak publicly about the matter soon, likely in the next week to 10 days as Big Ten Media Days approaches. Until then, the uncertainty lingers not just around Nelsons future, but around what the backfield picture looks like if the Huskers have to keep moving without him. [Read more 🡒]