It’s been talked about for so long, and now Gable Steveson’s venture into mixed martial arts is officially happening.
Steveson (0-0), a 2020 Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, will make his MMA debut against Braden Peterson (1-0) at LFA 217 on Sept. 12 from Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, Minn. The promotion announced the news Tuesday in a press release.
Steveson’s debut is a long time coming as the possibility of trying his hand at MMA has been discussed since winning his gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics (delayed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic). Instead of jumping straight into MMA, Steveson went the pro wrestling route and signed with WWE. His more than two-year stint with WWE ended in May 2024. Upon his release from WWE, Steveson, who’d never played football, was invited for an NFL tryout with the Buffalo Bills. Steveson got far into 2024 training camp but was cut as the team trimmed down to a final 53-man roster.
Since then, Steveson has ramped up his MMA training. He spent time at Kill Cliff FC in Florida before he was invited by Jon Jones to help prepare the then-heavyweight champion for his title fight against Stipe Miocic last November at UFC 309.
Steveson, 25, returned to compete in collegiate wrestling this year for the University of Minnesota. The two-time national champion, who’d won 73 consecutive matches, was denied a third title after he was shockingly upset on a last-second takedown by Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson.
During a March appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” shortly after the loss, Steveson indicated a move to MMA was in his near future. He credited Jones for being a “great mentor” to him.
“I’ve got a great mentor right now, I hope a lot of people know a guy named Jon Jones – just a fantastic dude and the greatest fighter of all time. He’s pretty damn good,” Steveson said. “I appreciate his efforts of trying to lead me into the right direction and kind of taking my back and giving me the direction that I need. I’m really young, and he’s been there and done that before, so I’m really appreciative of how he’s kind of walked my steps leading into this next chapter, if that’s what it is.”
I believe he’s going to be an absolutely dominant champion when he’s seasoned properly
Why LFA buddie ?
Smart decision to get some experience in a lower promotion.
Slow is the only way.
If he gets brought up too fast, he will get KOd. All heavyweights can crack.
I thought he was wwe NIL??
Awww shit
– Braden Peterson
It would be funny if he got worked over.
@HongKongPhooey, do you disagree? Even Brock didn’t debut in the UFC.
This is an exciting debut. I didn’t even know he was training. Anyone know where? The fight is only 3 weeks away from it being announced, so he must be getting solid work somewhere.
LFA is the main pipeline. He’ll be in the UFC in no time if he does well there.
yeahhhhh , i think the hype now is needed for Gable to launch in thje UFC , NOT LFA my.02 kinda like BO
What a mess
Should of just been training MMA for 3-4 years first
I can’t hate on him for trying different things. But, seeing each attempt result in a failure sucks. He didnt put much time into each thing he tried and you can tell with the result.
At least Jones won his fight and decided to help Gable come into the sport.
This is why he needs to take it slow.