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Gable Steveson is dipping back into his past as he continues his pursuit of an MMA career. The Olympic wrestling champion, who's widely considered the No. 1 prospect in heavyweight MMA, has inked a multi-match deal with upstart wrestling promotion Real American Freestyle, Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani reported Wednesday.
Steveson is set to make his promotional debut at RAF 9 on May 30 in Dallas against a to-be-determined opponent.
Steveson is one of the greatest wrestling talents of his era. Along with being a two-time NCAA Division I national champion and two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner — the award given annually to collegiate athletics' top freestyle wrestler — Steveson is best known for his run through the 2020 Olympic Games, where he stunned the global field at just 21 years old to become the youngest freestyle wrestler in his division to ever win gold.
Notably, Steveson’s final collegiate wrestling match came against current RAF heavyweight champion Wyatt Hendrickson. After returning to the University of Minnesota for the 2024-25 season to fulfill his final year of eligibility, Steveson reached the NCAA Division I finals on a dominant run, having not relinquished even a single takedown throughout the season and season-ending tournament. His goal of a third national championship, however, was ultimately derailed by Hendrickson's last-second heroics in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history.
Steveson, 25, has since emerged as one most highly-touted prospects in recent MMA history.
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He is a perfect 4-0 with four knockout wins across multiple combat sports disciplines since making his pro MMA debut in September with a highlight-reel first-round stoppage of Braden Petersen. Steveson then transitioned over to Mike Perry's Dirty Boxing promotion for another impressive 15-second knockout of Billy Swanson in October, followed by a brutal 24-second knockout of Kevin Hein in an MMA return bout in late November. Stevenson kicked off 2026 with another first-round MMA stoppage, this time against Hugo Lezama, which Uncrowned was cageside in Mexico City to document .
Steveson has not been shy to voice his desire to one day fight in the UFC. He told Uncrowned in November that he has spoken to UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard and that his "perfect world" scenario was to make his Octagon debut on the promotion's scheduled White House card in June alongside his coach and mentor, UFC legend Jon Jones.
UFC CEO Dana White subsequently confirmed that Steveson is "on the radar, big time" for the UFC and the promotion is "very much" interested in signing the Olympic champ to a deal once Steveson gains enough experience, although White House appearances ended up being in the cards for neither Steveson nor Jones.
Steveson also had brief stints with the NFL's Buffalo Bills and WWE before making the full-time transition to MMA.
Continue reading...
Steveson is set to make his promotional debut at RAF 9 on May 30 in Dallas against a to-be-determined opponent.
Steveson is one of the greatest wrestling talents of his era. Along with being a two-time NCAA Division I national champion and two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner — the award given annually to collegiate athletics' top freestyle wrestler — Steveson is best known for his run through the 2020 Olympic Games, where he stunned the global field at just 21 years old to become the youngest freestyle wrestler in his division to ever win gold.
Notably, Steveson’s final collegiate wrestling match came against current RAF heavyweight champion Wyatt Hendrickson. After returning to the University of Minnesota for the 2024-25 season to fulfill his final year of eligibility, Steveson reached the NCAA Division I finals on a dominant run, having not relinquished even a single takedown throughout the season and season-ending tournament. His goal of a third national championship, however, was ultimately derailed by Hendrickson's last-second heroics in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history.
Steveson, 25, has since emerged as one most highly-touted prospects in recent MMA history.
[Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season]
He is a perfect 4-0 with four knockout wins across multiple combat sports disciplines since making his pro MMA debut in September with a highlight-reel first-round stoppage of Braden Petersen. Steveson then transitioned over to Mike Perry's Dirty Boxing promotion for another impressive 15-second knockout of Billy Swanson in October, followed by a brutal 24-second knockout of Kevin Hein in an MMA return bout in late November. Stevenson kicked off 2026 with another first-round MMA stoppage, this time against Hugo Lezama, which Uncrowned was cageside in Mexico City to document .
Steveson has not been shy to voice his desire to one day fight in the UFC. He told Uncrowned in November that he has spoken to UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard and that his "perfect world" scenario was to make his Octagon debut on the promotion's scheduled White House card in June alongside his coach and mentor, UFC legend Jon Jones.
UFC CEO Dana White subsequently confirmed that Steveson is "on the radar, big time" for the UFC and the promotion is "very much" interested in signing the Olympic champ to a deal once Steveson gains enough experience, although White House appearances ended up being in the cards for neither Steveson nor Jones.
Steveson also had brief stints with the NFL's Buffalo Bills and WWE before making the full-time transition to MMA.
Continue reading...
