Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson may be considering a career in MMA after training with Jon Jones for his bout with Stipe Miocic.
The Olympian won his medal in 2020 and did a short stint in WWE and NFL, but neither worked out well for him. The fighter decided to use this time off to complete his final year of eligibility at the University of Minnesota. Still, he wants to get back into the fighting scene. Steveson was recently named as one of the training partners helping Jones during his preparation for his bout with Miocic. Fortunately, Jones emerged victorious and retained his belt, but this experience has lit a spark in Steveson as he has his sight set on exploring MMA in the future.
“I do have goals in mind,” Steveson said when speaking to MMA Fighting. “I would love to go to L.A. in 2028. Winning the Olympics in America would be such a big thing, especially having it in L.A. with a magnitude of what L.A. is. That’s definitely a big part of why I came back to wrestle. Also, I think a lot of doors are still open. I went to the Buffalo Bills, and after that, I had a few teams reach out about putting me on the practice squad, which definitely kept me in football, too. But also the door of MMA is slowly starting to open up.
“As I put the gloves on, I really like the feeling of going out there and mixing everything together from wrestling to boxing to kickboxing to jiu-jitsu, and putting all the pieces together in one. That definitely put a huge spark in me to do MMA, too. Wherever the path leads me to after this wrestling season is going to be great regardless. However, the MMA thing, when I tell you it, definitely lit a fire under me. Being in that camp definitely put a big, big gas light and lit it really hard and burned the fumes in me.”
Although there is no conceivable plan yet for when he will make his big move, Steveson plans to include some of the techniques and workouts he learned during the training into his wrestling routine. Steveson is fully back into the wrestling scene and plans to reclaim his place.
The fighter recently applied to represent the American team at the Olympic Games this year but failed to get in as the timing did not align. Unfortunately, the American team failed to capture gold, but Steveson believes they did well considering the opposition.
“Seeing the heavyweight division gave a little steam to it. It didn’t bother me as a viewer seeing how it turned out for America,” Steveson said. “I wish the team would have captured a few gold medals but it’s the Olympics. You never know what’s going to happen.
“The heavyweight division is such a tossup, and the guy I beat [Geno Petriashvili] in the 2021 Olympics won this past Olympics. You never know who’s going to come out on top.”
“I would love to combine them both and maybe wrestle at the Olympics. Then, maybe a few weeks later or a few weeks before, go out there and win a big fight,” Steveson said. “I think the magnitude of it can be really great.
“That’s just a time will tell a story. Do I see myself winning the Olympics and being something great in something else? Yes, of course.
Steveson revealed that he had always been interested in MMA and was scheduled to be part of Jones’ training team earlier this year. However, the fighter had to withdraw due to a torn pectoral muscle.
Steveson still has his eyes on MMA, but for now, he plans on focusing on wrestling, as he is part of the college wrestling team. He plans to give MMA a shot, as his training with Jones’ coaches and partners has given him a taste of what it feels like.
“Overall [the experience] was great,” Steveson said. “Definitely an honor to be part of a great performance and seeing the product that we put together go out in the cage and flourish. The way the knockout and the spinning back kick to the side went was just flawless execution from him, his kickboxing coach, and the coaches that he has, too. I feel like I played a small role in something that was really big. I was happy to be there.
“Just when I was down there, I was doing MMA also and I really enjoyed it, too. Just being able to put the gloves on and piece everything together slowly. Definitely, it’s going to take some time to get where it needs to go but time is all I have. I’m honored to be in Albuquerque with Jon and Brandon Gibson and Greg Jackson and all the other guys, too. To showcase who I was but also for them to put their eyes on me and put me through a lot of drills and put me through a lot of work. That’s where I kind of fell in love with it.”
Steveson has had much success in his career as a wrestler, and he plans to achieve the same result when he switches to MMA. Before Jones, Steveson had trained with Kill Cliff FC and worked with coaches like Henri Hooft, so he knows what he’s in for.
“I really hope so,” Steveson said. “I think wrestling translates really well to MMA. I’ve been working on boxing a lot when I was down there in the camp with Jon. I think it will translate really well.
“I know who I can be in anything, and I want to be the best. To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best and go out there and put in your best efforts. I believe I can be anything.”
Steveson also got high praise from UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. The champ said he believes in Steveson and knows the fighter will be a great addition to the MMA world whenever he decides to make the switch.
He’s going to be scary. He’s going to be very scary when he decides to do MMA,” Jones said. “He knows how to make men appear very weak – me being one of them. When he learns how to box and learns a little about jiu-jitsu, it’s not a matter of if he’ll become a UFC champion. It’s when he’ll be a UFC champion.”
