{"id":711821,"date":"2026-05-29T10:54:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T10:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/711821\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T10:54:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T10:54:37","slug":"gable-steveson-rocks-rangers-first-pitch-as-he-readies-for-epic-raf-debut-against-alexandr-romanov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/711821\/","title":{"rendered":"Gable Steveson Rocks Rangers First Pitch as He Readies for Epic RAF Debut Against Alexandr Romanov"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gable Steveson is all geared to make his debut at the Real American Freestyle (RAF) against Alexander Romanov. Just before this beginning, he recently made an appearance at the Texas Rangers<\/a> MLB game, where he threw the first pitch.<\/p>\n

Steveson, who is a Tokyo Olympic wrestling gold medalist, a former WWE star, and a 3-0 MMA star, is now ready to be a part of the RAF 9. He recently announced that he will debut in the UFC in July this year; however, before that he is now returning to a pure wrestling platform after signing a multi-match deal with RAF.<\/p>\n

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His debut at the competition is slated for Saturday, May 30, 2026, against former UFC heavyweight Romanov. Their showdown will take place at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. Before this transition, Steveson was invited by the MLB team, the Texas Rangers, for throwing the first pitch of their game against the Houston Astros<\/a> at the Glove Life Field, Arlington.<\/p>\n

The Olympic gold medalist enjoyed this special moment and offered glimpses of his visit on Instagram. He posted a bunch of photos and videos, where he is seen making the first pitch, posing with the ball, and signing the ball. The post\u2019s caption read:<\/p>\n

Steveson\u2019s Instagram post<\/a><\/p>\n

Gable Steveson made his feelings known about the impact of the RAF on wrestling<\/p>\n

In January 2026, Gable Steveson appeared at the JRE MMA Show, where he sat for a conversation with Joe Rogan, where they discussed<\/a> the Olympic gold medalist\u2019s career and important aspects of UFC, wrestling, and more. Amid this, they spoke about the availability of no real professional outlet for actual wrestling, and responding to this, Steveson said that RAF is a really good outlet for wrestling and opened up about how it is impacting the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is f*ed. And wrestling needs a real way to go out there and be something big. And I think they have a really good one now with RaF, if you haven\u2019t heard about it. American Freestyle. They\u2019re trying, and I think they\u2019re trying really well. And I think it\u2019s going to come to a point where how do you make matchups continue? Because, you know, wrestling gets to the point where in fighting, in a lot of the sports, you can get to the point where, you know, maybe you draft a guy in fighting, there\u2019s a next big thing, there\u2019s the next guy out there that you can kind of create,\u201d said Gable Steveson.<\/p>\n

He added:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd with wrestling, they\u2019re trying to create an atmosphere of how can you create that person? And I like it, and I think it might work. And hopefully it keeps going the way it needs to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his RAF bout, Gable Steveson will make his highly anticipated UFC debut against Elisha Ellison in July 2026.<\/p>\n

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