It’s normal for UFC fighters to be linked with their predecessors with highly decorated careers, especially due to their exceptional talent and potential. Irish star Ian Garry is often considered to be the next Conor McGregor, which is just an example of that theory. Meanwhile, there are others, like Jon Jones’s wrestling coach, Gable Steveson, who is dubbed the next big thing even before entering the sport. In the Olympic gold medalist’s case, he is often likened to Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier.
Daniel Cormier, before etching his name in UFC history as a double champion who defended his title in both the light heavyweight and the heavyweight division, recorded a pretty stellar amateur wrestling career. While he did not win an NCAA Division I title, he reached the finals, and in addition to that, ‘DC’ was also the runner-up in the Big 12 Conference on two occasions and a 2-time NJCAA champion. When it comes to Gable Steveson, he’s achieved more than Cormier in the amateur space, and he understands why people would liken him to the former UFC champion, but the former Olympic gold winner believes that he’s a better version.
“People are always going to compare me to Cormier just because [of] the height and size. I would just say, I’m an athletic Cormier… I’ve got a better build and better stature,” Gable Steveson stated on the ‘Overdogs Podcast’. “But I love Cormier. Cormier has always been well to me, he’s always been a good guider for me also, too… shout-out to him most definitely.”
Being one of the best amateur athletes ever, there’s a certain level of expectation that people have of Gable Steveson to do well in MMA. His WWE run didn’t go as planned, so when he decided to prepare for MMA, he enlisted the help of many UFC fighters, including Jon Jones, whom he decided to coach for his wrestling. Steveson is also aware of the expectations and the “pressure” but he’s not letting himself succumb to it, but rather focuses on the daily tasks of his day-to-day life.
“Pressure’s always going to be there. It’s a part of it. The bigger the stage gets, the bigger the pressure, the bigger you wanna think to yourself that, ‘Oh, what if this don’t go right? If you think that way, nothing will ever go right. I just wake up free… I go to class, I go to the box, I go to MMA, I go to jiu-jitsu,” Gable Steveson added. “If I’m thinking about what’s gonna happen in six months, then my mind’s not in the right space. I try to eliminate all that before I even get to that point because when I step into that cage, it’s showtime.”
Well, Gable Steveson is going to make his MMA debut somewhere in the future, and he’s addressed the fact that UFC is the destination for him. However, he hasn’t yet engaged in a conversation with Dana White, and even missed the chance to do that a few years ago. Here’s what he had to say.
Gable Steveson Missed a Meeting With Dana White in 2021
As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo being postponed to 2021, and after Gable Steveson won his gold medal, he joined the WWE that year. He signed a developmental deal with the wrestling promotion and didn’t feature on regular WWE programming. It was also during that year that Steveson was set to meet Dana White for a discussion surrounding a potential UFC career. Unfortunately, the meeting couldn’t happen due to the 24-year-old’s commitment to WWE.
“I have not spoken to Dana personally. That’s one meeting I would love to have face-to-face. I’ve been waiting a long time to see him,” Gable Steveson stated on the ‘Pat McAfee Show’ this past March. “I know after the 2021 Olympics, he reached out and wanted me to come see him in Vegas and everything else. That’s one meeting that I would love to have and love to see.”
Well, professional wrestling didn’t work for him, so people are hoping MMA does for Gable Steveson. It will be interesting to see if he can replicate or even surpass the success Daniel Cormier had in the sport, given that he believes himself to be a much more athletic than ‘DC’. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section down below.
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