Gable Steveson, born on May 31, 2000, is one of the most decorated wrestlers in American history, winning Olympic gold in freestyle wrestling at Tokyo 2020 in dramatic fashion. Now, he’s looking to follow suit in mixed martial arts.
Steveson doesn’t just want to win a UFC heavyweight title, he wants to be the sport’s predominant star. “What I've tried to do with wrestling is be the sport, and MMA, I want to be MMA ...” Steveson told The Tennessean. “Sometimes those people are larger than life and I always want to be a figure that (people say), ‘Hey, this guy can be larger than life, but also if you see him in person, man he's a real good dude, he's cool, he's humble, he's nice. But when it's time for showtime, you know we need to watch him.'"
Training him to reach those heights is arguably the greatest fighter to ever enter the octagon, Jon Jones. Prior to joining forces, Jones had long been a fan of Steveson’s wrestling ability, tracking his collegiate career with Minnesota. Steveson’s wrestling left such an impression that Jones tapped the gold medalist to join his training camp in preparation to face Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title in 2024.
Gold medalist Gable Steveson mma training is he ready to transition from wrestling?
“I feel like I gave him a good spark … I committed every day to, we need to do this. We need to beat this guy and this is how we're going to beat him. And Jon listened,” Steveson said. “And whenever he told me things, I listened too and I think it was two guys that had no ego that came together ..." Jones has since joined Steveson’s team as a coach, helping to prepare the 25-year-old as he looks to add a championship belt to his trophy case.
Early Wrestling Career
After that season, Steveson racked up four state titles and a 171 match win-streak, with his last two state tournament championship matches lasting a combined 28 seconds. Steveson, a high school senior, placed fourth at the 2018 US Open Nationals and the US World Team Trials in April and May respectively, beating the likes of NCAA Division I All-American Tanner Hall and fellow Junior World Champion Dom Bradley in the freestyle tournaments.
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Steveson started his collegiate wrestling freshman season using a redshirt, winning titles at the Daktronics and Bison Open tournaments. Since his redshirt was pulled in November, he compiled an undefeated 14-0 record in dual meets and a Cliff Keen Invitational title during regular season, with multiple wins over high ranked opponents, most notably second-ranked Derek White in his collegiate debut. Entering the B1G championships as the top-seed, he opened up with a technical fall and two decisions to make it to the finals, where he faced second-seeded Anthony Cassar from Penn State.
Collegiate and Freestyle Achievements
Steveson represented the Gopher WC at 125 kilograms in the FloWrestling: RTC Cup from December 4 to 5, 2020, alongside graduated Gopher Tony Nelson. After siting out in the dual against the Cliff Keen WC, Steveson faced the heavily accomplished Nick Gwiazdowski from the Wolfpack RTC in an anticipated rematch.
Competing as a junior during the regular season, he compiled a 9-0 record with a 100 percent bonus rate. During the postseason, he continued his dominance, making his third consecutive Big Ten Championship final and winning his second title, dominating the second-ranked wrestler in the country and '19 Junior World Champion Mason Parris en route to a major decision. At the NCAAs, Steveson compiled two bonus points victories en route to the quarterfinals, where he faced '17 Cadet World Champion from Penn State Greg Kerkvliet, whom he was able to shut down but fell short of bonus points.
Steveson returned to freestyle competition at the 2023 US Open Wrestling Championships, since last wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics.
Transition to WWE and NFL
Steveson then made a brief appearance at WWE's SummerSlam event on August 21, 2021, and then on September 4, it was announced that Steveson had reportedly signed a contract with WWE. Five days later, WWE confirmed they had signed Steveson to an NIL (Next In Line) deal. As part of the 2021 WWE Draft, a storyline process in which the company assigns the wrestlers to exclusively appear on a certain show, Steveson was drafted to the Raw brand, which became effective October 22, 2021.
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He made his first appearance in April 2022 at WrestleMania 38 Night 1, being introduced by Stephanie McMahon and, during the second night of the event, he confronted and performed a suplex on Chad Gable. He later appeared on the December 9, 2022, episode of SmackDown for Kurt Angle's birthday celebration. On the June 20, 2023, NXT special, Gold Rush, Steveson appeared in a backstage segment alongside Eddy Thorpe, giving him advice on how to beat Damon Kemp (Steveson's real life older brother).
Following this, Steveson was quietly moved to the NXT brand full-time, where he had his first match at NXT The Great American Bash against Baron Corbin. The match ended in a no contest after Corbin and Steveson threw each other over the announcers' desk. The match and its finish received heavy criticism from fans, who booed Steveson while cheering for Corbin, the heel.
On May 31, 2024, it was reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter that Steveson had signed a three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League and would play defensive line despite never playing football before.
MMA Debut and Future Aspirations
Steveson’s MMA career began in dominant fashion, taking just over 90 seconds to finish Braden Peterson on LFA 217 in September. The next step is Dirty Boxing, where Steveson aims to add a new crop of fans in pursuit of star-status. Steveson continues his fight career in Nashville on Oct. 30, headlining DBX 4 at The Pinnacle.
"That's always been my thing, how can I make the person that has never seen Gable Steveson before, want to watch him again," Steveson said. "And after that, can you watch him again? Can you watch him dominate a second time?
Steveson’s wrestling base as a two-time national champion and Olympic gold medalist immediately makes him one of the most fascinating prospects in MMA, but it's a very different sport. Friday night was his first time ever competing in a sanctioned MMA fight, and he passed his first test with flying colors.
"It's a lot different than wrestling. Wrestling, you prepare for one seven-minute match, and in MMA, you can prepare for 15 minutes straight of just going out there and brawling with somebody, and someone is going to fall, and that day it thankfully wasn't me," Steveson continued. "It's different. It's a different rush, it's a different thing, and it's amazing to be a part of something new, and enjoy it, and go out there and be free."
Historically, fighters with wrestling backgrounds like Steveson have quickly made the jump to bigger MMA promotions like the UFC, but it sounds like the Apple Valley native is in no rush. Former Minnesota wrestler Brock Lesnar had only one professional MMA fight before fighting in the UFC, but the sport is much different now than it was in 2007.
"I would like to take this slow. I would like to go where I need to go," Steveson said. "I am 1-0, I am focused on being 2-0. Nothing else."Steveson said that he wants to get one more fight in before the end of the year.