When you receive praise from UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, you truly have a bright future. That is exactly what Jones did for Gable Steveson, who recently announced plans to return to amateur wrestling.
Steveson, who signed with WWE for a short time and attempted to make the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, will compete one final season with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He made the decision recently while pondering his future.
Related: Jon Jones Confirms His Future Plans Following UFC 309 Victory
Part of that included helping Jones as he prepared to fight at UFC 309. “Bones” successfully defended his title over Stipe Miocic this past weekend.
“Gable has everything it takes,” Jones said (thanks to Bloody Elbow for the quotes). “You know, one of his first days at practice, one of my teammates for injured sparring me. Gable was like, ‘I’ll go in.’
“I’m like, ‘Gable, you might wanna learn how to block and defend first. It can be more difficult than it seems.’ But he let me know in that moment that he’s very game.”
Jones said he “kneed him in the face” but Steveson walked right through it.
“He ate it,” Jones said. “He looked like a kid who had just found a new toy. He’s gonna be scary when he decided to do MMA. He know how to make men appear very weak, me being one of them.”
Jon Jones Backs Gable Steveson For MMA Superstardom
Steveson captured gold at the Summer Olympics in 2021 and seemed intent on transitioning to MMA from there. Instead, he signed with the WWE and had a short career with them.
Over the summer, he signed a three-year contract with the Buffalo Bills despite having never played college football. Steveson was released during the last rounds of cuts.
The 24-year-old last competed in at NCAA level during the 2020-21 season. He owns a career record of 67-2, with is only two defeats coming in 2018-19 as a freshman to Anthony Cassar.
