Gable Steveson might be one of the best heavyweight prospects to ever enter the world of MMA, but Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO, Dana White, needs to first see the former Olympic gold medalist compete inside the Octagon before crowing him the next best thing.
In case you didn’t know, Steveson is gearing up for a likely transition into UFC later this year. The renowned wrestling superstar is already 2-0 in his professional MMA career and with the help of UFC legend, Jon Jones, is expected to build on that record in 2026.
Steveson has been so impressive over just two fights that UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan, already thinks the Olympic medalist is an elite heavyweight. In fact, Rogan thinks Steveson is a top 5 UFC heavyweight right now despite never competing inside the Octagon. Those may be lofty expectations, but Steveson has “crazy” speed and “elite” wrestling to be able to live up to them.
White, who will likely bring Steveson in to compete on the Contender Series in 2026 to earn a UFC contract, believes the former wrestling star has what it takes to be one of the best. However, until Steveson actually steps inside of the Octagon and fights UFC-caliber competition White isn’t fully buying into the hype.
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“You don’t know until we find out. You can speculate all you want, but you don’t know until you get him in there,” said White during a recent interview with Spinnin Backfist. “No matter where you came from it’s hard to come to the UFC. Everybody looks human when they come here.”
