How to Watch Penn State Wrestling's Masanosuke Ono at Real American Freestyle

Saturday is an intriguing day for the future of Penn State wrestling. Masanosuke Ono wrestles competitively in the U.S. for the first time in more than a year, while Nittany Lions freshman Jayden James begins pursuing his second career age-group world title.

Neither wrestler has competed yet in a Penn State singlet, but both could be major players for the Nittany Lions next season as they pursue their sixth straight NCAA team title. Let's start with Ono, who returns to the mat Saturday night in Ohio.

Ono, the Japanese Senior World champ who redshirted for the Nittany Lions last season, is part of an epic card at Real American Freestyle's RAF12 in Cleveland. Ono will take on Ohio State's Ben Davino, the Big Ten champion and NCAA runnerup at 133 pounds last season.

The 22-year-old Ono is competing in the U.S. for the first time since February 2025, when he defeated Spencer Lee 3-2 in the main event of the FloWrestling Night in America event in Coralville, Iowa. The match was freestyle, the discipline in which Ono, then 20, won his 2024 Senior World title at 61 kg.

Less than a month after beating Lee, Ono committed to wrestle for Penn State, marking one of the biggest offseason decisions before the 2025 season. Ono did not compete for the Nittany Lions last season, as he worked through an injury and learned the nuances of folkstyle wrestling. He was registered to wrestle at 57 kg at the Bill Farrell Memorial Invitational last November but withdrew.

Masanosuke Ono signs autographs after the “FloWrestling Night in America” at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Ono since has competed internationally, dominating the 61 kg freestyle weight class at the 2026 Corporate All-Japan Championships. Ono scored technical-superiority wins over four opponents, puctuating his competitive return following a long absence.

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said that he's unsure when Ono will compete for the Nittany Lions. Ono spent the last year training with teammate Marcus Blaze, who placed third at the NCAA Championships and qualified for the 2026 Senior World Championships by beating NCAA champ Jax Forrest of Oklahoma State.

"Definitelty at some point," Sanderson said of Ono's timeline in an interview with FloWrestling. "I don't know when it's going to be. I don't want to lead anyone on. It could be this year, could be next year. But he's definitely going to wrestle at Penn State, hopefully for a couple years."

Ono, who has yet to wrestle a competitive folkstyle match, has said that he wants to compete in the discipline "because I like folkstyle more than freestyle right now." Wrestling fans want to see him as well. FloWrestling recently scouted potential 2027 NCAA finals, including Ono vs. Forrest.

How to watch Masanosuke Ono in Real American Freestyle

Penn State wrestler Masanosuke Ono lifts the championship trophy at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena. | Mark Wogenrich | Penn State on SI

RAF12 kicks off at 8 p.m. ET Saturday at Rocket Arena, where the Nittany Lions won their fifth straight team title at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. The event will stream live on Fox Nation.

Ono will wrestle Davino in a bantamweight bout at RAF12. The Nittany Lion has a chance to add another measure of revenge for teammate Blaze, who fell to Davino in the Big Ten final and the NCAA semifinals. Blaze exacted his own revenge with a 4-1 win over Davino at the U.S. Open.

Two Penn State legends are on the RAF12 card as well. Three-time NCAA champion and UFC star Bo Nickal returns to the ring against Max McEnelly, the defending 184-pound NCAA champ from Minnesota.

And Jason Nolf, also a three-time NCAA champ at Penn State, will take on Evan Wick, a four-time All-American at Minnesota.

Penn State's Jayden James pursues U20 world title

Jayden's ready for work.

Follow along with his journey at U20 World Championships this weekend🖥️https://t.co/exuCHoly8N \\\ #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/GTeZkG8V7C
— Penn State Wrestling (@PennStateWREST) August 21, 2026

Also on Saturday, Penn State wrestling signee Jayden James begins his tour of the 74 kg bracket at the U20 World Championships in Slovakia. James seeks to win his second age-group world title before joining a packed Nittany Lions roster, where he will compete for the 157- or 174-pound starting spots.

James, a 2025 U17 world champion, is having a terrific freestyle season. He made the final of the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in May, defeating three wrestlers seeded above him.

That included wins over two-time NCAA finalist Mikey Caliendo of Iowa and future Penn State teammate Joe Sealey. James ultimately fell to two-time NCAA champ David Carr in the final, but the tournament announced his presence on the senior stage.

James is the No. 3 recruit nationally in the 2026 class, according to FloWrestling, and went 79-0 with two state titles in his last two seasons at Delbarton (N.J.) High. After initially committing to Virginia Tech, James flipped to Penn State last year.

Follow James' road to the U20 world title at USA Wrestling.

Delbarton High's Jayden James celebrates after winning the 165-pound title at the 2026 NJSIAA State Championships. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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