Gable Steveson’s hot start continues. The Olympic champion needed just 24 seconds to run through Kevin Hein and pick up his third combat sports win in as many months Sunday at Anthony Pettis FC 21.
Competing in the regional MMA promotion owned by the former UFC lightweight champion of the same name, Steveson appeared to knock Hein out on his feet with a lightning-quick left hand, then double-legged Hein’s limp body and unleashed one more follow-up punch for good measure.
The highlight-reel performance comes just three weeks after Steveson earned another impressive 15-second knockout of Billy Swanson in his Dirty Boxing debut on Oct. 30. Steveson also stopped Braden Petersen with a first-round knockout in September, winning his long-awaited professional MMA debut.
Advertisement
Just three months into his new career, Steveson, 25, is already widely considered the top heavyweight prospect in MMA. 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.
Steveson also had brief stints with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and WWE before making the full-time transition to MMA in 2025, where he’s benefitted from the tutelage of UFC legend Jon Jones.
Advertisement
Steveson recently told Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” that he spoke to UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard following his quick win over Swanson at Dirty Boxing 4, which Maynard was ringside to witness, and that their dialogue was “healthy.” Steveson said in the same interview that he is taking things slow in the early stages of his MMA career and not putting a specific number on the amount of fight experience he hopes to gain on the sport’s regional scene before signing with a major promotion like the UFC.
“Whenever I feel confident enough,” Steveson said of making the jump to MMA’s next level. “I feel confident right now. But whenever I feel like we are at that time, that Jon [Jones] looks me in the face and says, ‘Hey, now is the time to take that next step’ — when he says it, we’ll be ready and take it from there. But man, I’m fully confident right now that I can go into a big promotion and make waves. But I’m not at that point, and I don’t like to speak too far ahead — I do see myself being something special.
“It’s [Jones’] call, but ultimately it’s my call too. We have a good transparency on what he thinks is best, but he also listens to a lot of things I say. He’s also really big on, ‘If you want to go ahead and do it, let’s do it.’ So I think that’s where we’re at with our relationship, and he’ll make the best call for me. Competitive-wise, I think he’ll know — and I’ll know — when I’m ready.”
Advertisement
Steveson also noted to Uncrowned that making his UFC debut on the promotion’s planned June 2026 White House card alongside Jones would be his “perfect world” scenario.
After three highlight-reel knockouts in three months, the Olympic champ appears to be well on his way.
