As an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling and an athletic freak for a heavyweight, Gable Steveson could have worked with virtually anybody to get him ready for his transition into MMA.
But the 25-year-old prospect lucked into partnering with Jon Jones prior to his showdown against Stipe Miocic when the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion was seeking physically imposing grapplers to get ready for the fight. Steveson was more than happy to help but that training camp forged a bond with Jones and it didn’t
take long for the University of Minnesota standout to realize he found the perfect coach and mentor to help him reach his goals in fighting.
“My relationship with him is everything,” Steveson said about Jones when speaking with MMA Fighting. “It’s kind of crazy the way I fight, he’s kind of created the way how I want to fight in the future. The dude’s a legend but he’s also my close friend now. He’s my close friend, he’s my coach, he’s everything in between.
“It’s an honor to be with someone like that and for someone to guide you along the way with that kind of stature is crazy. I take everything he says, I take it and I soak it all in and I try do the best I can to make sure he’s proud and make sure all the other coaches are proud. Right now, everybody’s smiling ear to ear and we’re going to keep it that way.”
Steveson is quick to heap praise on his other coaches as well including Brandon Gibson and Greg Jackson, who were also in his corner alongside Jones when he moved to 3-0 in his career with a first-round stoppage victory at WFL 3.
But Jones being considered arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time brings a different level of attention to that partnership, especially considering how much he’s talked about Steveson as the future of the sport.
In fact, Jones didn’t blink when he said that Steveson would likely end up in the UFC sooner than later and his path to becoming champion wouldn’t take all that long.
While he’s not making any declarations about conquering the UFC heavyweight division in short order, Steveson appreciates that Jones has that much faith in him already.
“It means a lot coming from him,” Steveson said. “That’s my brother. He knows best. He sees me first hand. He sees what I can do. He sees my work mentality. He sees everything that I can do from top to bottom. I would believe his word but I wouldn’t believe his word to the fullest extent because you’ve got to believe my word, also. You’ve got to believe in my work ethic and my work ethic is pure. So with those two combined, you can believe both of them.”
While Jones has become an integral part of Steveson’s evolution, there are also critics who say that the two-time NCAA champion might be making a mistake working with him. The concern usually stems from Jones’ outside-the-cage activities where he’s dealt with numerous arrests and drug testing issues that cost him wins during his career.
But Steveson says Jones is a consummate professional as both his friend and coach and he couldn’t ask for anybody better to guide his career.
“I don’t think he does [get enough credit],” Steveson said. “I think a lot of people overshadow [his abilities] with a lot of things with just fighting and a lot of the things he has going on. His mentorship is the best thing that we can have.
“He’s the best fighter of all-time leading a new guy to maybe be that person also. It’s a one of a kind opportunity and I’m all ears. I’m a sponge. Just soaking in all the knowledge that I can.”
With Jones by his side and the rest of his coaching staff putting in countless hours to get him ready for the next stage of his career, Steveson is confident he’s got the right people around him to accomplish whatever he wants in the future.
Maybe that’s a fast track to a UFC title but no matter what’s next, Steveson plans on keeping Jones by his side through it all.
“He’s perfect. He’s everything you want in a coach,” Steveson said. “He shows up on time. He’s ready to work. He’s ready to work overtime, also. So the narrative of him being not there, his ego’s there — it’s non-existent with him. He’s ready to show up and do his thing and make sure we are happy and make sure we have a guy that can lead us along the way with coaches like Brandon Gibson and Greg Jackson and Jon Jones.
“We’ve got a perfect squad. We’re just trying to make it happen one day at a time and just have the best of best times.”
