Gable Steveson came into UFC 329 a massive -2800 betting favorite over Elisha Ellison, which isn’t all that surprising given Steveson’s Olympic wrestling credentials and college wrestling accolades. And while his win wasn’t an easy domination, the Jon Jones protege showed he was willing to step into the fire for his UFC debut and engage in a fist fight.
Steveson and Ellison packed a lot of fighting into just half a round. Ellison fought like a man looking to capitalize on the opportunity to steal
Steveson’s thunder. Steveson didn’t wilt under his opponent’s pressure and dished out a heap of violence, finishing the fight with a series of big right hands and knees (watch the highlights here).
“Man, what a cool thing,” Steveson told the press at the UFC 329 post-fight press conference. “Go out there on a big card, a lot of pressure, a lot of people waiting to see what Gable Steveson can do. And hopefully I delivered to everyone on their TV screen and so everyone who was an average fan that may not know me, knows me now.”
“I think I showed a lot to the people, but I also think there’s so much more to show,” he said. “Elisha, I knew he wasn’t gonna give up, but I know if you hit Elisha Ellison hard, from all of his videos, that he would fall. And when I hit him hard after a couple good jabs and a couple good body shots, you saw that he wanted the breaks. He wanted to circle the cage. He wanted to make sure that he got away from me.”
Steveson was clearly pleased with his performance, despite it being a bit of a brawl and the two time Division I champ going 0-1 on takedowns for his UFC debut.
“It’s gonna happen, it’s a fight, you’re gonna get hit,” Steveson said. “Maybe I take a big hit, but you saw I bounced right back and I got right in his face as I should.”
“The first [wrestling] shot I took was just to get a feeler out for him, see what he was gonna do, see how he would defend. I wanted to shock his nervous system to kinda make sure that he knew he was in for a fight. In a lot of Jon Jones fights, he goes out there and in the first 30 seconds, he pushes you to make sure you know he’s gonna fight. So he defended my takedown. Great job. But if I shot two more, he wasn’t gonna defend those.”
The Olympic wrestling gold medalist detailed what he said to fellow former U.S. Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier after he’d won.
“I’m a big DC fan also,” Steveson said (to boos in the crowd from Jon Jones). “I went over to him and I told him no takedowns are necessary for this win, and he congratulated me. As you know, DC is a big wrestler just like me, a guy that goes out there and can shoot a lot of shots, just like myself also. So I went up to him and I said, ‘Hey, I showed you a little bit of what a lot can be.’ And as time goes on, I’ll take those shots and take guys down and make sure they stay down.”
The first big test for Steveson was getting punched in the face by a big UFC heavyweight and seeing how he’d react. Gable took nearly a dozen clean punches to the head and didn’t wilt one bit. Unsurprising given the grit he’s shown in his amateur wrestling career, but still something he needed to prove on his way up the ladder.
As for what’s next?
“Today, I’m gonna enjoy the moment,” Steveson said. “Tomorrow, I’m gonna go home and enjoy it with my family. Monday, I go back to work. So if it means something [happens] fast and it comes quick, I would love it. But I think, [Madison Square Garden] is in November. MSG would be amazing to go out there in Madison Square Garden. The last time I was in MSG, Jon Jones spinning back kicked Stipe [Miocic]. So it would be cool to keep that legacy going in Madison Square Garden.”
