Gable Steveson is officially a member of the UFC roster, and Dana White has shared his first words publicly on the signing.
During the UFC 327 broadcast this past Saturday, it was announced that Steveson is the newest addition of the top MMA promotion’s heavyweight roster. Steveson attended UFC 327 along with Jon Jones inside the Kaseya Center in Miami.
At the post-fight press conference, White was asked what his expectations are for Steveson.
“Yeah, I think you get him in the UFC. Everybody has those UFC jitters when they first get here,” White said. “You give him a fight. There’s no easy fights here, but we’ll see how he does.”
The UFC boss gave a short answer when asked whether or not an opponent for Steveson’s debut has been lined up.
“No,” White responded.
Steveson has gotten off to a 3-0 start in his pro MMA career. All three bouts have ended in the first round via knockout or TKO. He also has a 15-second knockout win over Billy Swanson, which was held under the Dirty Boxing Championship banner.
There has been a ton of buzz around Steveson, who is an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling. Despite his renowned wrestling pedigree, Steveson has gotten comfortable on the feet in his MMA fights. In his most recent outing against Hugo Lezama, Steveson took a head kick but didn’t get rattled before ending the fight via TKO at three minutes and 50 seconds.
Before transitioning to combat sports, Steveson was signed with WWE. Ultimately, he wasn’t developing in the world of sports entertainment, which led to his release in May 2024.
What do you think the ceiling is for Gable Steveson? Can he eventually become a viable threat in the UFC heavyweight division? Can he become a champion, or will he fizzle out? Share your opinion in the comments below.