UFC signs Olympic gold-medallist Gable Steveson with debut fight confirmed

Gable Steveson with his Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020 (AP)

Gable Steveson has been announced as the UFC’s latest high-profile signee with the Olympic wrestling champion set to make his debut this July.

Steveson (3-0-0, 3 KOs), sitting in the crown next to Jon Jones, was unveiled during the broadcast of UFC 327, which saw Carlos Ulberg fight through a serious knee injury to knock out Jiri Prochazka and win the vacant light-heavyweight championship in front of US president Donald Trump.

The American 25-year-old will make his bow in the promotion on International Fight Week at UFC 329, commentator Jon Anik confirmed, which will take place on 11 July in Las Vegas. His opponent is yet to be disclosed.

Steveson made his name as an amateur wrestler, winning Olympic gold for Team USA at the 2021 Games in Tokyo, before signing a pro-wrestling contract with WWE.

Despite his WWE deal, Steveson continued to compete in amateur wrestling and even signed with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills last summer, before being released by the American football franchise after just three months.

Steveson was also released by WWE last May, but he seems to have found a new calling inside the cage.

Steveson has fought three times in MMA since September, winning all three via first-round knockout.

Gable Steveson at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo (Getty Images)

His second outing in November saw him secure a KO 24 seconds into his fight with Kevin Hein, stopping his opponent with a brutal left hook.

Between his first two MMA bouts, Steveson also secured a 15-second KO in Dirty Boxing against Billy Swanson.

After that victory, Steveson sent a message to UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard, who was sitting in the crowd.

“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.”

That plea has clearly worked with Steveson now under the banner of the world’s biggest MMA promotion.

All of Steveson’s MMA bouts took place at heavyweight, where Tom Aspinall is the reigning UFC champion - but with the Brit recuperating from a serious eye injury, Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane are set to contest over the interim title at this summer’s White House card.

Former UFC star and Olympic wrestler Ben Askren has previously tipped Steveson to run through the UFC, saying: “Gable can be champ in 18 months.”