Olympic champion Steveson makes RAF debut against MMA veteran Romanov in Arlington

Gable Steveson, the Olympic gold medalist and incoming UFC heavyweight, made his Real American Fighting debut at RAF 9 on Saturday night at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas, headlining a card stacked with former UFC champions and title contenders.

Steveson, who won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in wrestling, is already scheduled to compete in the UFC against Elisha Ellison at UFC 329 on July 11. His RAF main event against Alexandr Romanov — an experienced MMA heavyweight — served as his first professional mixed martial arts outing before that high-profile promotional debut.

The co-main event brought together two of the most recognisable names in recent UFC history. Colby Covington, the former interim UFC welterweight champion and perennial title contender, faced Chris Weidman, the former UFC middleweight champion who dethroned Anderson Silva in 2013. Both men are UFC veterans now competing under the RAF banner.

Elsewhere on the card, former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili — who held the title before his recent UFC run — met MMA legend Frankie Edgar, himself a former UFC lightweight champion. The pairing gave the event a genuine sense of weight beyond the Steveson spectacle.

Arman Tsarukyan, who competes in both the UFC and RAF, opened the main card against social media personality Mugzy in a bout that drew considerable attention given the contrast in competitive backgrounds.

The full RAF 9 main card also featured Kyle Snyder vs. Givi Matcharashvili, Real Woods vs. Ibragim Ilyasov, Jason Nolf vs. Christopher Minto, Parker Keckeisen vs. Georgios Kougioumtsidis, Zain Retherford vs. Antrell Taylor, Bajrang Punia vs. Ridge Lovett, and Lucia Yepez vs. Cameron Guerin.