Franklin Regional graduate Spencer Lee took a tough loss at Real American Freestyle 03 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Lee, who was a large betting favorite, had a 9-4 lead with 23 seconds remaining when his Ukranian opponent, Andrii Yatsenko, attempted a trip and threw Lee to his back.

Yatsenko quickly capitalized on the position, wrapping up the pin in the final 10 seconds of the 135-pound bantamweight match.

Lee, a former Olympic silver medalist, was a significant favorite ahead of the bout. Lee was a -1718 (bet $1,718 to make $100) favorite according to Nxtbets. Anyone bold enough to back Yatsenko was paid out at +700. A $100 bet on Yatsenko would have paid out $800.

Lee is now 41-4 in his freestyle career. This year, Lee has taken three losses. He challenged himself by taking on Masanosuke Ono at the FlowWrestling: Night in America at 59.5 kilograms and lost 3-2 back in February.

Lee took his other loss at the 2025 World Championships, where he placed ninth at 57 kilograms. Lee opened the tournament with a win, but was eliminated when he lost to Arsen Harutyunyan by technical fall, 14-3.
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Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges.

Starting with Real American Freestyle 03, the organization will now have regulated sports betting markets for the first time. RAF realized a news release on Tuesday indicating the company had partner with ALT Sports Data.

According to the release, ALT Sports Data will manage and distribute real-time RAF event data to sportsbook/gaming operators. Wrestling is a sport that typically isn't offered on sports betting markets outside of the Olympic games.

RAF 03 will be held Nov. 29 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main event will featured a wrestling bout between former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler and UFC title challenger Chad Mendes.

Olympic silver medalist and Franklin Regional graduate Spencer Lee will be featured on the card as well.

"This is a major step forward for RAF,” said Chad Bronstein, CEO and Co-Founder of Real American Freestyle in a news release. “We’re building the next great combat sports platform, and that means delivering the kind of live experiences and second-screen engagement modern fans expect. ALT gives us the tools and reach to make that happen, and to bring pro freestyle wrestling into the global betting ecosystem in a smart, strategic way.”

According to the release, ALT Sports Data’s proprietary technology platform powers data and betting integrations for combat and emerging sports properties, providing sportsbooks like FanDuel, DraftKings, bet365 and others with official odds and real-time pricing. ALT’s broader offering includes global distribution, integrity services, and fan demand generation via its 200M+ social reach and owned media platform, NXTbets.com.

“Real American Freestyle is exactly the kind of forward-thinking league we look to partner with – dynamic, high-impact, and built for digital audiences,” said Todd Ballard, President and Chief Growth Officer at ALT Sports Data. “We’re excited to help them scale betting engagement and connect with fans in an entirely new way.”

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or @J_oshRizzo on X.

Another Franklin Regional graduate will competing on Real American Freestyle. Former Panther Nico Megaludis competed on the card last month in State College, losing by technical fall.

Now, Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee is listed for the next card on Nov. 29 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Lee is listed as competing at bantamweight (135 pounds) against Ukraine's Andrii Yatsenko. Yatsenko was originally supposed to compete at RAF 02 against Megaludis, but the opponent was changed during fight week.

Megaludis instead faced off against Austin DeSanto, the opponent who upset Lee in the state title match his senior season of high school to prevent Lee from becoming a four-time champion. The main event is set to feature Chad Mendes and Michael Chandler, two UFC alums who have strong amateur wrestling backgrounds.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.