The Minnesota wrestler is in a bit of a strange place in his career. After winning gold at the 2020 Summer Games, Gable Steveson instantly became a star. The 24-year-old quickly signed a deal to join the WWE, bypassing offers from the likes of UFC and Bellator. Sadly for Steveson, professional wrestling wasnât the right fit.
After a dismal stint with the company, the amateur wrestler was cut in May. Quickly, rumors spread like wildfire that the heavyweight would pivot to MMA. However, Gable Steveson instead signed with the NFLâs Buffalo Bills. Despite never playing a down of football, they took a chance on the 24-year-old.
However, Gable Steveson was cut from the team in late August. With his WWE and NFL careers flaming out, the Olympian then turned to MMA. Over the last few months, Steveson has worked closely with Jon Jones and Gordon Ryan. After âBonesâ defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 309, he heaped tons of praise on the young wrestler.
Gable Steveson responds to praise from Jon Jones, discusses potential MMA career
Speaking in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Gable Steveson discussed his future. There, the young wrestler admitted that working closely with Jon Jones lit a fire under him. While heâs unsure that MMA is in his immediate future, Steveson sees a path forward in combat sports.
âAfter being in that camp with Jon Jones, that definitely put a major spark in me to go out there and do MMA.â Gable Steveson stated to Ariel Helwani. âNot sure the promotion yet. But Jon definitely lit a fire under me. He was like âHey, I think you should go back to wrestling, I think you should try MMA, we have a great team out here in Albuquerque if you want to join usâ. It was just fascinating how I got into something so quick.â
He continued, âWhen I put on the gloves, everything felt like homebase. With the wrestling, with the boxing, with the jiu-jitsu, I feel like Iâd be very good really quick⌠I [probably] do not have an MMA fight [in the next three years], but I do have a path that can lead me to somewhere great. Weâre discussing it, and I think itâll be a really great path for me to go out there and showcase who I am⌠Itâs going to take time.â
Three years for a fight?
UmmmâŚ
Pick a promotion and go have one. Dude will be 300x more qualified than almost anyone he gets in there with at this early stage. Why wait?
He has no ring time.
He should start with amateur kickboxing in my opinion, 3 - 1 minute rounds.