RAF 09
| RAF 09: Steveson vs. Romanov | |
|---|---|
| Promotional poster for RAF 09 | |
| Promotion | Real American Freestyle |
| Date | May 30, 2026 |
| Venue | College Park Center |
| City | Arlington, Texas |
| Attendance | 3.252[1] |
| Event chronology | |
|
RAF 08: Tsarukyan vs. Faber
RAF 09: Steveson vs. Romanov
RAF 10: Chimaev vs. Danis
| |
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
[edit ]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
[edit ]| 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 lbs.) | 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 lbs.) | 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 | |
- ^ For the RAF Light Heavyweight Championship.
- ^ For the vacant RAF Featherweight Championship.
- ^ RAF Lightweight title eliminator.
- ^ RAF Lightweight title eliminator.
Source:[12]
Bonus awards
[edit ]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
[edit ]- ^ "WrestleTix: RAF Real American Freestyle • May 30 College Park Center at Arlington, TX". Wrestlenomics. May 30, 2026. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Real American Freestyle 09". UTATickets. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Behunin, Alexander (May 25, 2026). "RAF 09 card, start time, date and location". MMA Mania . Retrieved May 29, 2026.
- ^ Johnson, Mike (May 30, 2026). "PRO WRESTLING PERSONALITY STARTING WITH REAL AMERICAN FREESTYLE TONIGHT". PWInsider . Retrieved June 2, 2026.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Real American Freestyle (May 1, 2026). "RAF09 FULL CARD". Instagram. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
- ^ "Эрназар Акматалиев подписал контракт с американской лигой RAF". AKIpress News Agency (in Russian). April 15, 2026. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
- ^ Real American Freestyle (May 16, 2026). "CARD UPDATE:Zain Retherford now faces 2025 National Champ Antrell Taylor at RAF09". Instagram. Retrieved May 16, 2026.
- ^ "RAF 9: Steveson vs. Romanov". Fight Odds. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "RAF09 Event Recap - Raising the Bar Even Higher". Real American Freestyle . May 31, 2026. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
External links
[edit ]- Official website Edit this at Wikidata
- "RAF 09" at Apple TV Edit this at Wikidata
- "RAF 09" at Fox Nation
- "RAF 09" at Tapology
- "RAF 09" on YouTube
