Gable Steveson stepped away from wrestling to pursue other goals but he returned to form on Saturday with a shutout victory over ex-UFC heavyweight Alexandr Romanov in the RAF 9 main event.
In his first match back since a stunning loss in the 2025 NCAA championships, Steveson was quick to showcase his dominance against Romanov, racking up points at will and effectively picking his shots whenever he wanted to score. Steveson ended the match in the second period after he got Romanov down and made a quick turn
to go up 10-0 to end things by technical superiority.
Following the win, Steveson took aim at a pair of Olympic medalists for his future matches in RAF while he’s also preparing for his octagon debut at UFC 329 in July.
“I’m feeling amazing,” Steveson said after the win. “You questioned if I could still wrestle? You think Gable can’t wrestle? Whoever wants it can get it. I came here to be a wrestler. I’m a wrestler at heart but I’m a fighter now.
“I have three matches in RAF that I really want. Next up I would like Abdulrashid Sadulaev and there’s a guy from Iran named Amir Hossein Zare, he’s the best heavyweight right now, we’ll go for my third match. If you want it, I’m here.”
A quick go-behind put Steveson on the board early and he got a quick turn to go up with four points almost as soon as the match started. A pushout gave another point to Steveson but as time was running out in the first period, he broke Romanov’s grip and it appeared the former UFC heavyweight may have suffered some sort of shoulder injury.
Despite the injury the match continued into the second period with Steveson getting another quick pushout before another go-behind and a turn to put him up 10-0 to end the match with the tech fall for the Olympic gold medalist.
Steveson was a huge addition to the RAF roster as an Olympic champion and now a potential star for the UFC. While he’ll likely have to wait for his next appearance in RAF with his UFC debut drawing near, Steveson has all sorts of matches he could set up for the future, especially if there’s any chance he wants to take a stab at making the 2028 Olympic team with the games happening in Los Angeles.
