Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson to debut at UFC 329

MIAMI – Gable Steveson becoming a UFC fighter always felt like a matter of time, and now it is official.

During Saturday’s UFC 327 broadcast, the promotion announced that Steveson (3-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will make his UFC debut on July 11 at UFC 329. The event will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as part of International Fight Week. His opponent has not yet been announced.

Steveson, 25, is seen as one of the top rising stars in MMA because of his outstanding wrestling background. He won an Olympic gold medal and became a two-time NCAA champion before transitioning into combat sports.

“I think bringing him into the UFC is the right move,” White told MMA Junkie and other reporters after Saturday’s event at Kaseya Center. “Everyone feels nervous when they first arrive in the UFC. There are no easy fights here, so we’ll see how he performs.”

After finishing his wrestling career, Steveson spent time in WWE and also tried to make it into the NFL. He later shifted his focus to MMA and quickly found success.

In his professional MMA debut last September, he defeated Braden Peterson by TKO through ground-and-pound in just 98 seconds at LFA. One month later, he knocked out Billy Swanson in only 15 seconds under Dirty Boxing rules. He then stopped Kevin Hein in 24 seconds.

Most recently, Steveson defeated Hugo Lezama (11-3) in 3 minutes and 50 seconds while competing for the Mexican regional promotion MFL.