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RAF 09: Steveson vs. Romanov was a freestyle wrestling event that took place on May 30, 2026, at the College Park Center of University of Texas at Arlington in Arlington, Texas.[2]

It was the ninth flagship event produced by the Real American Freestyle (RAF) promotion, and aired live on Fox Nation.[2]

Background

Tickets for the event went on sale through AXS on April 10, 2026.[3]

This event was originally planned to be held in Bahrain, but was moved due to the 2026 Iran war.[4]

Commentary for the event’s live Fox Nation broadcast was provided by Kurt Angle, Ben Askren, Julianna Peña, Chael Sonnen, and Shane Sparks.[5]

McKenzie Mitchell debuted during the event as the promotion’s new ring announcer.[6]

Former Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson debuted at this event after signing a multi-match contract with RAF, headlining against Alexander Romanov.[7][2]

RAF Women’s Middleweight Champion Kennedy Blades was scheduled to defend her title against Alexis Gomez at this event, but the bout was cancelled due to injury.[8]

Zain Retherford was scheduled to face Ernazar Akmataliev, but Akmataliev withdrew and was replaced by Tömör-Ochiryn Tulga.[9][8] Tulga then also withdrew, and was replaced by Antrell Taylor.[10]

All competitors favored to win by sportsbooks were victorious in their respective matches.[11]

Results

Main card (Fox Nation)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight United States Gable Steveson def. Moldova Alexander Romanov Technical fall (10–0) 2 1:07
Catchweight (200 lb) United States Colby Covington def. United States Chris Weidman Decision (5–4) 3 2:00
Light Heavyweight United States Kyle Snyder (c) def. Georgia (country) Givi Matcharashvili Technical fall (10–0) 3 0:41 [a]
Lightweight Georgia (country) Merab Dvalishvili def. United States Frankie Edgar Technical fall (12–1) 3 1:34
Featherweight United States Real Woods def. Russia Ibragim Ilyasov Pinfall 2 1:01 [b]
Cruiserweight United States Parker Keckeisen def. Greece Georgios Kougioumtsidis Decision (8–5) 3 2:00
Middleweight United States Jason Nolf def. United States Christopher Minto Decision (10–5) 3 2:00
Lightweight United States Zain Retherford def. United States Antrell Taylor Decision (8–0) 3 2:00 [c]
Lightweight United States Ridge Lovett def. India Bajrang Punia Decision (13–8) 3 2:00 [d]
Women’s Catchweight (125 lb) Ecuador Lucía Yépez def. United States Cameron Guerin Technical fall (10–0) 1 1:48
Middleweight Armenia Arman Tsarukyan def. United States Keelon Jimison Technical fall (16–5) 1 1:56
  1. ^ For the RAF Light Heavyweight Championship.
  2. ^ For the vacant RAF Featherweight Championship.
  3. ^ RAF Lightweight title eliminator.
  4. ^ RAF Lightweight title eliminator.

Source:[12]

Bonus awards

The following athletes received bonuses.[13]

  • Match of the Night: Jason Nolf vs. Christopher Minto and Parker Keckeisen vs. Georgios Kougioumtsidis
  • Performance of the Night: Merab Dvalishvili

References

  1. ^ “WrestleTix: RAF Real American Freestyle • May 30 College Park Center at Arlington, TX”. Wrestlenomics. May 30, 2026. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c “Olympic Champion Gable Steveson, Chris Weidman to Make Debuts at RAF09 in Dallas, May 30th”. USA Wrestling. April 7, 2026. Retrieved April 7, 2026.
  3. ^ “Real American Freestyle 09”. UTATickets. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  4. ^ Ruth, Daisy (March 24, 2026). “Eric Bischoff Doesn’t See WWE Night Of Champions 2026 Taking Place In Saudi Arabia”. Wrestling Inc. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  5. ^ Behunin, Alexander (May 25, 2026). “RAF 09 card, start time, date and location”. MMA Mania. Retrieved May 29, 2026.
  6. ^ Johnson, Mike (May 30, 2026). “PRO WRESTLING PERSONALITY STARTING WITH REAL AMERICAN FREESTYLE TONIGHT”. PWInsider. Retrieved June 2, 2026.
  7. ^ Al-Shatti, Shaheen (March 25, 2026). “Gable Steveson signs with RAF on multi-match deal, debut set for RAF 9”. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  8. ^ a b Real American Freestyle (May 1, 2026). “RAF09 FULL CARD”. Instagram. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  9. ^ “Эрназар Акматалиев подписал контракт с американской лигой RAF”. AKIpress News Agency (in Russian). April 15, 2026. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
  10. ^ Real American Freestyle (May 16, 2026). “CARD UPDATE:Zain Retherford now faces 2025 National Champ Antrell Taylor at RAF09”. Instagram. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
  11. ^ “RAF 9: Steveson vs. Romanov”. Fight Odds. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  12. ^ Riggs, Drake (May 31, 2026). “RAF 9 results: Gable Steveson, Merab Dvalishvili dominate; Arman Tsarukyan vs. Colby Covington set for July”. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  13. ^ “RAF09 Event Recap – Raising the Bar Even Higher”. Real American Freestyle. May 31, 2026. Retrieved June 1, 2026.