Olympic gold medallist Gable Steveson has called for the UFC to sign him after producing a stunning 13-second knockout in front of one of the company’s primary matchmakers.
Steveson, who won freestyle wrestling gold at Tokyo 2020, was making his debut for promotion Dirty Boxing on Thursday night and starched his opponent Billy Swanson in lightning-quick time.
In the crowd was the UFC’s vice president of talent relations Mick Maynard, who Steveson made sure to address in his post-fight interview.
“I think a special guest (Maynard) was here to watch me,” the 25-year-old said. “Mick, you’ve seen a little bit I would love to show you a lot more. Hopefully you believe in me and I appreciate you.”
In wrestling, Steveson was a three-time age-group world champion as well as a two-time NCAA Division I national champion, earning wide acclaim before going onto Olympic success at the age of just 20.
He grabbed the attention of the WWE, making a brief appearance at SummerSlam in 2021 before being signed to the promotion the following month, becoming just the second Olympic gold medallist to wrestle for the company after Kurt Angle.
But after just one poorly-received televised match on their developmental brand NXT, he was released in May 2024.
If Steveson was to join the UFC, he would become the fourth Olympic gold medallist to fight for the company, following Henry Cejudo, Kayla Harrison and Mark Schultz.
