A highly anticipated MMA debut is set to take place next month at LFA 217.
Jon Jones’ plan to return to the UFC at the White House may have encountered some issues following Dana White’s recent comments.
While the revival of his career following his recent retirement still seems somewhat unclear, we now know for a fact that one of the elite training partners that he worked with in recent times will be stepping inside the cage soon.
Following UFC 319, there has been a lot of talk about the impact of dominant wrestling and the reputation that it gives to the sport.
Now, a debuting fighter that Jones himself has spoken very highly of, is set to bring some incredibly impressive credentials to MMA in his latest career move.
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Gable Steveson’s MMA debut made official for LFA 217 on September 12
Earlier this year, Gable Steveson confirmed that he has committed himself to MMA after spending a lot of time around Jon Jones during his training camp for UFC 309.
The 25-year-old is one of the most successful wrestlers of his generation, having won gold in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Steveson looked to transition away from wrestling into several careers, including the WWE and NFL, but those did not pan out well for him.
These alternate paths that he took before turning his attention to MMA may not end up significantly impacting his trajectory due to his elite wrestling background and him having enough time to work on other aspects of his game.
On August 19, LFA, which has proven itself to be one of the most tried and tested paths to the UFC, announced that Steveson has signed with the promotion and will be making his heavyweight MMA debut at LFA 217 on September 12.
The former Olympian will be taking on 37-year-old Braden Peterson, who won his pro MMA debut earlier this year by stopping Chris Thompson in 14 seconds at Fusion Fight League in Montana.
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Fans have high hopes for Gable Steveson’s MMA career
Thanks to his wrestling pedigree and the work he’s done alongside Jon Jones, there has been a lot of hype surrounding Gable Steveson and his MMA career.
This was evident in the fans’ reaction to his debut being announced, with the assumption that Steveson will build some experience in LFA before coming over to the UFC.
‘He can be a champion immediately.’
‘This is very interesting because the UFC heavyweight division right now is dog s—. If [Tom] Aspinall beats [Ciryl] Gane there is nobody exciting for him to fight. He’s already beaten everyone. If Gable can get into the UFC, he’d only need a couple of wins before he can get a title shot.’
‘Heavyweight needs this.’
‘Exciting. He’s an athletic heavyweight.’
‘LFA heavyweights are in trouble.’
‘Dude tryna be the next Brock [Lesnar] lol.’