Kyle Snyder finally got a measure of revenge in his latest match against Russian legend Abdulrashid Sadulaev at RAF Georgia on Saturday.
The American was going back and forth with his fellow Olympic gold medalist until Snyder shot low in an ankle pick as he drove through to grab Sadulaev’s leg for the takedown. A moment later, Snyder finished the move and ended up scoring the pinfall victory after Sadulaev grabbed his knee in obvious pain.
Replays showed the move was executed perfectly as Snyder got the win but Sadulaev suffered some sort of injury that required him to get help off the mats after the match was over.
“Tonight, I wrestled this match for Jesus, I wrestled this match for my wife and I wrestled for Georgia,” Snyder said after his win and latest RAF light heavyweight title defense.
Hand fighting opened the match with Synder immediately dipped for a single-leg takedown that was quickly thwarted by Sadulaev on a slick reversal on the chest wrap. But Snyder kept driving and got a takedown of his own as both Olympic champions got on the board early.
The first period ended with Sadulaev up 4-2 and he shot on Snyder to start the second but the American sprawled and shut him down. A lack of activity put Sadulaev on the shot clock and without scoring that gave Snyder another point.
Another shot from Sadulaev led to chest wrap from Snyder but neither man could score as the match moved into the third and final period.
On the restart, Snyder jumped on an ankle pick and got the takedown with Sadulaev immediately grabbing his knee in pain. A second later, Snyder got the pinfall as Sadulaev remained down on the mat as medical personnel rushed in to help the Russian.
It’s unfortunate that Sadulaev’s debut ended with an injury but still a huge win for Snyder, who had fallen to “The Russian Tank” three times in the past.
