Rafael Aronov, a 29-year-old MMA fighter nicknamed “The Cop” for his day job as a police officer from Beersheba and who battled Hamas terrorists in Ofakim on October 7, secured his 6th professional MMA (mixed martial arts) career win in London earlier this month.
Aronov's victory came at the Cage Warriors 174 event against English fighter Jamie Richardson.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Aronov spoke on being a fighter for Israel in both the Octagon and on the frontlines of the Jewish State’s darkest day.
“I went to the cage wrapped in the Israeli flag and wearing a [Bring Them Home Now] necklace. I got a lot of boos from the crowd, but they encouraged me even more to win the fight to raise our flag as high as I can in front of their faces,” Aronov said. “Before I walked in the cage, as always, I said Shema Yisrael, and then I invoked my friends who died in combat. Alexy Bodovski, Oriel Avraham, Ran Gvilli, and Shai-el Knafo. They all died on October 7.”
The first round began in Aronov’s favor. He unleashed wild, heavy blows and managed to score some hits. This, though, was not to last as Richardson, the clear crowd-favorite, began to win out after he landed a series of clean, precise punches that drained Aronov’s vitality.
The round ended on the ground with Richardson’s left arm pressed against Aronov’s neck, his right fist looking for an opening to strike the Israeli in the face.
“It was pretty rough, but I tried not to show it too much,” Aronov admitted. “Most of my fights start pretty bad, and then I usually overcome adversity and come back.”
That’s exactly what happened.
The second round
The second round opened much like the first. Aronov’s aggressiveness set the tone. This time, though, whatever Richardson had in the first round to turn the tide had been spent.
One minute and three seconds into the second round, Aronov landed a heavy jab, dropping his English opponent’s guard and sending him stumbling back.
An impotent attempt to shield his face did little to stop a follow-up jab and nothing to stop a subsequent right uppercut.
A quick hook combination then sent Richardson to the mat. Seconds later, Aronov locked in a triangle choke, forcing Richardson to tap out.
The silence that washed over the room was split by the immediate jubilant shouts from Eli, his brother, and Lior, Aronov’s wife, who watched from his corner mere feet away.
“When I won, they (the crowd) were all silent,” Aronov recalled. “But when I got up and walked to the side of the cage, they were screaming ‘Free Palestine’ and booing me and stuff like that. And even some of the guys flipped me off as well. So, I looked in the crowd at the guys who flipped me off, and I flipped them back. I then went to my brother, Eli, and told him, ‘Bring me the Israeli flag.’ And when he did, I went to the crowd and raised it as high as I could.”
As the referee announced the final decision of the fight, Aronov stood proudly, one hand raised with the Israeli flag while the other held out the dog tag hanging from his neck. Lior stood behind him, an Israeli flag held out in front of her.
Aronov cited his history of service and loss, both in his early professional career and on the battlefield, as motivators that drove him to succeed in the Octagon.
Wishing to spread awareness of the situation of the hostages in Hamas captivity and the Israeli troops fighting terror in Gaza, Aronov shared his experience on October 7 of last year.
“I woke up at 6:30 in the morning to the alarm,” he said, explaining how at the beginning, he and his wife thought little of it and considered going back to sleep. “Then another alarm. And another alarm. We started getting all these videos through WhatsApp and Telegram and I started to realize something big was happening.
“Before I was even told, I was in my uniform and on my way to combat. And then all my unit got the call to go to fight. We were told there were terrorists that infiltrated the country.
“At the police station, we gathered four people in the team and were sent to Ofakim,” Aronov continued. “There, I fought in the famous house of Rachel, the woman with the cookies. And I fought in another place in Ofakim as well. Two of my team members were injured from a grenade, so I took control of the team that was left, and we continued fighting.
After that we tried to go to Reim, where we knew other guys from our unit were fighting. There, two good friends of mine died. Alexy Bodovski and Oriel Avraham. We got that information on-site. We took their bodies from there.”
Aronov explained that, with the help of his wife, Lior, he has overcome injuries and losses suffered in his early career to become the fighter he is today and that through following this passion, he is able to “put Israel on the map.”
“I’m able to represent Israel in a good way so that people will be aware of the hostage situation, that we are on the right side, that we are fighting a just war,” he said.
Further, he seemed unbothered by those who booed him for his nationality.
“Our true victory against those people is just to keep doing what we do,” Aronov said. “Keep raising the flag. Keep winning. Keep showing them that although there is war, we are still doing what we love to do. Our lives are not stuck. Although we mourn the dead, we still keep on going, and we keep on dancing. That is our true victory against antisemitism.”
Aronov asked that to conclude the interview, his fallen friends and comrades, Alexy Bodovski, Oriel Avraham, Ran Gvilli, and Shai-el Knafo, be mentioned once more.
He also asked readers to share a prayer for the safe homecoming of the Israeli soldiers and hostages.