Gable Steveson Real American Freestyle RAF 09 main event opponent revealed

Olympic Gold Medalist and two-time NCAA champion Gable Steveson is set to make his Real American Freestyle debut in May and his opponent has been revealed. Steveson will wrestle in the main event of RAF 09 against Alexandr Romanov, who previously competed against former Michigan standout and NCAA champion Mason Parris at RAF 02.

Steveson, who starred at Minnesota, is returning to the wrestling mat next month while simultaneously pursuing his MMA career. While his goal is to become a UFC champion, you can add RAF champion to the list as well, as he’ll be added to the heavyweight division, currently run by Wyatt Hendrickson (Oklahoma State and Air Force). Hendrickson defeated Steveson in the 2025 NCAA finals in Philadelphia.

RAF 09 will take place in Dallas, Texas (exclusively streamed on FOX Nation) with Steveson-Romanov serving as the main event. Colby Covington, who just won via tech fall over Dillon Danis at RAF 07, will be in the co-main event against former UFC middleweight champion and NCAA All-American (Hofstra) Chris Weidman.

THIS MATCH IS 🔥

Steveson will face Romanov in his RAF debut May 30 in Dallas.

Tickets in bio. Stream exclusively on @foxnation pic.twitter.com/hOaYqSKaUH

— Real American Freestyle (@RAFWrestlingUSA) April 7, 2026

“We’re excited to bring RAF to Texas for the first time and to a market that lives and breathes big-time sports,” Chad Bronstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Real American Freestyle, said. “The momentum behind this league continues to build, and we’re delivering matchups you simply can’t get anywhere else. Dallas is going to feel that on May 30.”

Steveson’s an Olympic Gold Medalist from the 2021 Tokyo Games and is considered one of the best wrestlers of his generation. He had a brief NFL training camp stint with the Buffalo Bills, dabbled in WWE and is now pursuing MMA. Steveson, as Ariel Helwani reported, is expected to be on the UFC roster at some point this year.

“I hear they’re going after some big ones,” Helwani said of Steveson’s RAF opponents. “And of course, Wyatt Hendrickson, who beat him last year in the national championship, is a member of RAF. That’s not going to be the match off the bat … They’re going to build up to it, I’m told. But that’s a massive signing for RAF. Seemed like a natural fit, Gable’s got some big plans this year. Wouldn’t be surprised if we see him debut in the UFC in the next few months, maybe even international fight week.

“There was some talk of the White House Card. International fight week is going to be a very big one. Stay tuned for that.”