Steveson can see himself making UFC debut at White House event in 2026
Gable Steveson speaks to MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura ahead of his main event bout at Dirty Boxing Championship 4 on Oct. 30.
Gable Steveson’s next move in combat sports caught many by surprise, but there’s a reason for it.
The highly decorated wrestler, who won a gold medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics, is taking his talent to Dirty Boxing Championship – a fight promotion that’s exclusively striking based and doesn’t allow grappling. Steveson takes on former Bellator and PFL fighter Billy Swanson in the main event of DBX 4 on Oct. 30 in Nashville, Tenn.
To many, it might be a backwards move to willingly fight in a promotion that takes away Steveson’s strongest weapon, but for the two-time NCAA Division-I champion, it makes all the sense in the world.
“This is the best thing for me because I want to answer all these questions: Can Gable Steveson strike? We will see Oct. 30, and you will see,” Steveson told MMA Junkie. “Can Gable Steveson wrestle? You saw last month in LFA. I think there’s a lot of questions to be answered. I want people to be fearful of the ground game, the takedown game, and now I want to show the world, ‘Hey this guy can go out there and box a guy up and get him out.'”
Steveson, 25, made his MMA debut in the cage at LFA 217 last month. He made quick work of Braden Peterson with vicious ground-and-pound after securing an easy early takedown to win the fight by TKO in just 98 seconds. Taking on Swanson now – who has much more experience than him in the striking realm, having a professional MMA record of 4-3, and bouts in bareknuckle boxing and Muay Thai – Steveson hopes to deliver another thrilling finish.
“It’s a great opponent, but I’m going to go out there and be showtime, as always,” Steveson said. “I want people to show up and watch a great fight, but I also want t show a flawless execution, and that’s what I’m prepared to give them.”
Steveson’s ultimate goal is to work his way to the UFC, and he expects the move to be quick. That’s why he’s challenging himself with the DBX move and staying busy. Prior to making his MMA debut last month, Steveson had tried his hand with the WWE and with the Buffalo Bills in the NFL in his post-Olympic run in 2020. The two ventures came to an end one after the other, and he’s now returned to combat sports.
“(I had) a lot of great experiences with everything,” Steveson said. “I don’t regret the decisions I made. I think a lot of things are coming back to full circle now. MMA is going to be a great thing. I feel like I’m a high-caliber wrestler, and I’m ready to show the hands in DBX, and after that, go back to MMA and keep showing the world who I am, and just build from there.”
