Jon Jones‘ protege, Gable Steveson, is the next big name in MMA, and although the 25-year-old has not yet signed with the UFC, he is perhaps the most discussed heavyweight fighter on the planet presently.
While Jones recently hinted at potential retirement and not entering the octagon again, he’s preparing Steveson and has big plans for the latter.
For the unversed, Gable Steveson is an Olympic wrestling gold medalist, a 2-time NCAA Division I national champion, and a 5-time All-American. He also holds several other accolades. Steveson made his MMA debut last year at LFA 217 against Braden Peterson and won via technical knockout in the first round.
Later that year, he faced Kevin Hein and once again secured a first-round stoppage victory. Stevenson currently boasts a professional MMA record of 2-0 and is going to face Hugo Lezama (11-3) later this month at MFL 3.
Jon Jones says Gable Steveson will “wreck” other heavyweights
According to Jon Jones, the rising MMA star will be a UFC champion by this time next year. ‘Bones’ recently confessed that Steveson is a better athlete than he was at an early stage of his career, and the 25-year-old is going to “wreck” people in the UFC heavyweight division. In a recent interview with Helen Yee Sports, Jones said:
“He’s [Gable Steveson] unbelievable. He’s an unbelievable athlete, human being. He’s way more disciplined and dedicated than I ever was at his age, and I’m scared. I’m scared for the future of the UFC. Like, he is going to wreck sh*t. He’s gonna wreck people.”
The former two-division UFC champ added that Gable Steveson has everything in his arsenal that a fighter needs to be a champion, and the latter will grab the UFC heavyweight strap in 2027.
“This time next year, I could see it happening [Gable Steveson becoming UFC champ]. Once he signs with the UFC, there’s gonna be no stopping him. He can strike, and I think that’s his weakness right now. His grappling is just through the roof. His takedowns are unstoppable to stop, his ground and pound is effective, his sense to know where his body is at all times. He just has it all. And once he really learns what he’s doing, it’s not gonna be fair.”
However, Jon Jones also added that he has to prepare the 25-year-old and have him established before the latter steps into the octagon. So UFC fans will have to wait a little longer.
“Right now, we have goals outside of the UFC. We wanna have him established so that when he gets into the UFC, he has no questions about what he’s capable of.”
Check out Jon Jones’ comments below (1:58):
The UFC heavyweight division feels like it’s losing its spark. Champion Tom Aspinall is sidelined with an eye injury. Other than Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, Waldo Cortes-Acosta, Sergei Pavlovich, and a few others, fans have repeatedly criticized the division’s athleticism.
With Jon Jones unlikely to ever return, perhaps his disciple could help revive a division that once thrived.
