Gable
Steveson will return to the wrestling mat following his
triumphant debut in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Real American Freestyle announced Wednesday that the Olympic gold
medalist has been added to the lineup for RAF 12, where he will
meet former collegiate foe Anthony Cassioppi at Rocket Arena in
Cleveland on Aug. 22.

Gable Steveson returns to Real American Freestyle for RAF 12
matchup with Anthony Cassioppi after UFC 329 victory

After making his Octagon debut at
UFC 329, Steveson is returning for a wrestling matchup with RAF
before his next UFC fight. He will compete at RAF 12, which streams
on Fox Nation, marking the first anniversary of the promotion.

Steveson will enter the matchup with momentum on his side. The
decorated wrestler defeated Alexander
Romanov at RAF 9 in May before making a statement in his
Octagon debut at UFC 329, where he stopped Elisha
Ellison via first-round knockout to improve to 4-0 as a
professional.

Following his UFC 329 victory, Steveson said he hopes to return to
the Octagon this fall.

The RAF12 card is heating up🔥

Gable
Steveson takes on Tony Cassioppi AUG 22 in Cleveland at

#RAF12

Tickets in bio. Watch on @foxnation
pic.twitter.com/vIatDKBEOE

— Real American Freestyle (@RAFWrestlingUSA)
July 22, 2026

Andy
Foster believes Herb Dean made
the right call in the Ciryl Gane
vs. Alex
Pereira bout.

The California State Athletic Commission executive director
defended Dean’s handling of the
Ultimate Fighting Championship interim title bout between Gane
and Pereira. The
UFC Freedom 250 co-headliner ended in a technical knockout
victory for the Frenchman, but Pereira subsequently pointed out
that illegal back-of-the-head shots were pivotal in the finishing
sequence.

CSAC official says other referees would've done the same as
Herb Dean at UFC Freedom 250

Dean has faced immense scrutiny in recent weeks after Pereira
accused him of mishandling his loss to Gane. The spotlight has been
firmly on the veteran referee since the White House event, with
fans and fighters pointing out alleged errors in his past and
recent outings.

Pereira argues that Dean should have intervened after Gane landed
multiple punches to the back of his head before the finish.
However, Foster believes that the right call was made, claiming
that other high-profile referees would've also let the bout
continue.

“That looked like a normal fight to me,†Foster told MMA Fighting.
“There was no doubt a few of them got through and hit [the back of
the head]. The question is what do you do in that situation? Do you
stop the action? I don't think many referees would have, if any,
certainly at the high level.â€

Foster believes Dean handled the situation appropriately.

“I told Herb, in my view, you don't want to warn a lot of
times.â€

Foster then explained that halting the action for the fouls could
have unfairly altered the outcome by allowing Pereira time to
recover after being rocked with a legal shot.

“That's the dilemma,†Foster said. “So, what do you do? That is
exactly Herb's dilemma, and I think it's worse if he stops it.â€

He further added that the criticism aimed at Dean was excessive and
reiterated his full confidence in the longtime official.

“I think Herb Dean's a good referee,†Foster added. “You'll see
Herb Dean on the main event of my upcoming UFCs because Herb Dean
is the senior referee in California. Herb Dean has my full
confidence.â€

CSAC executive director Andy Foster
responds to complaints about Herb Dean after
Ciryl
Gane’s controversial win over Alex
Pereira at
#UFCWhiteHouse:

“I think Herb Dean's a
good referee. … Herb Dean has
my full confidence.”

(🎥 @DamonMartin)
pic.twitter.com/NjHQYAa4tj

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
July 22, 2026

Tom
Aspinall says recovering from multiple eye surgeries was more
painful than anything he has experienced, including a
vasectomy.

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king discussed the
aftermath of his bout against Ciryl Gane
during a recent podcast appearance, where he revealed the extent of
pain and inconvenience he faced due to his eye surgeries.

Tom Aspinall's eye surgeries and Ciryl Gane fight aftermath
explained

Aspinall’s UFC
321 bout against Gane ended in a no contest after multiple
accidental eye pokes left the heavyweight champion unable to
continue.

“I've had three [eye] surgeries,†Aspinall said on the “Great
Company with Jamie Lang†podcast. “I had one on the left and two on
the right. By the way, I've had the snip, right? I've had a
vasectomy, and I was thinking that has got to be the worst surgery
ever. Mate, compared to eye surgery, it is nothing. Honestly.â€

Aspinall further revealed that he had to remain awake while doctors
operated on his eyes.

“It's f*cking horrendous,†he recalled. “They kept me awake. They
put something on to keep your eyeball open… they numb your eye…
and they're coming at you with a scalpel or knife, whatever it's
called, and you're just watching them slice your eyeball open. It
was horrendous.â€

Aspinall admitted that his biggest concern immediately after the
fight was whether the damage would have long-term consequences.

“At first, I was super scared about it, to be honest,†Aspinall
said, noting that he initially feared the damage to his eye could
be permanent. “Especially the first two weeks. Yeah, I was really
scared about it.â€

The Brit then addressed the backlash he faced from fans for the
anticlimactic ending to the bout after many accused him of wanting
out of the fight following a strong start from Gane.

“If you're going to sit behind your phone and comment on the
toughness of a professional MMA fighter, then you don't really know
what you're talking about.â€

Aspinall has since revealed that he's ready to return to action,
with a rematch against interim champion Gane expected to go down
later this year.