It’s sometimes hard to determine the future greats of mixed martial arts, as it often depends on the style of victories and personality.
However, one combat-sport athlete taking the world by storm in the cage is 25-year-old Gable Steveson.
The Indiana-born fighter is well-known for his freestyle wrestling background, having won multiple gold medals in various championships.
Not to forget, he secured a gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after defeating Geno Petriashvili in a very close match.
MMA Debut
After a failed career in the WWE and with the Buffalo Bills in the NFL, Steveson turned to MMA, which would certainly be his strong point.
The American made his debut at the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA), which has seen multiple high-level fighters enter the UFC.
Those include former flyweight title challenger Brandon Royval and current middleweight prospect Gregory Rodrigues.
Steveson went head-to-head with Braden Peterson at LFA 217, who was making his second professional appearance in the sport.
In Peterson’s debut, he earned a first-round knockout, which ended in 14 seconds.
What seemed like a tough test turned out not to be, as the Minnesota resident dominated in his first MMA fight.
All it took was one easy takedown for Steveson before ending the bout with a vicious ground and pound to secure a first-round TKO victory.
Shows Crazy Power in Dirty Boxing
Just over a month after his MMA debut triumph, Steveson challenged himself to Dirty Boxing, a new sport which is similar to MMA but just with your hands.
Jon Jones, who co-owns Dirt Boxing Championship (DBX) with Mike Perry, is a friend of the former Olympic gold medallist and welcomed him to the sport.
The 265-lb fighter wanted to show the MMA community that he could strike and wrestle, and answer many of the fans’ questions.
Steveson challenged 31-year-old Billy Swanson, who had previously fought in MMA, in the main event of DBX 4.
The event took place in Nashville at The Pinnacle, where the crowd were left shocked by the incredible result.
Steveson knocked out Swanson in 15 seconds after only landing a few significant strikes before an impressive uppercut.
This win brought a lot of hype for the Portage-born fighter who proved he was just as dangerous on the feet as on the ground.
Return to MMA
It only took Steveson less than a month from his excellent knockout win to compete in his second MMA bout.
Instead of returning to LFA, the former freestyle wrestler participated in Anthony Pettis’ promotion, APFC.
In this contest, the 25-year-old went toe-to-toe with Kevin Hein, who was a submission specialist.
Remarkably, Steveson knocked out Hein with a brutal left hand, which only took 24 seconds of the first round.
What was so unique about this wild knockout was that straight after the finishing blow, Steveson landed a takedown while his opponent was out cold.
The excitement behind this heavyweight athlete must be tempting the UFC to sign him, as he seems unstoppable.
Likely, Dana White, Hunter Campbell and Mick Maynard will only need to see one more statement win before he’s welcomed to the biggest organisation in MMA.