Mar 21, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Gable Steveson of Minnesota looks on before the quarterfinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Center. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Gophers legend Gable Steveson making MMA debut next month in Minnesota

Originally posted on Minnesota Golden Gophers on SI
By Will Ragatz | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 6:45 PM ET

Gophers wrestling legend and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson will begin his professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) career with the Legacy Fighting Alliance on September 12 at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, MN.

Steveson will be fighting heavyweight Braden "Bloodaxe" Peterson (1-0), a Montana native. The bout will be part of the LFA 217 event at the Mystic Showroom, with the card headlined by a bantamweight showdown between former Gophers wrestling standout Mitch McKee and Christian Strong.

Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson’s mixed martial arts debut is officially set for #LFA217. pic.twitter.com/FAmFNfPKzy
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) August 19, 2025

Steveson, 25, won four state wrestling titles at Apple Valley High School and went on to star for the Gophers. He was a perennial All-American who won 285-pound national championships in both 2021 and 2022. Steveson also won a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, has wrested with WWE, and explored an NFL career with the Buffalo Bills in 2024 (despite not playing football in high school or college).

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After being released by the Bills, Steveson was granted one more year of NCAA eligibility and returned to the Gophers last season, where he stunningly lost to Oklahoma State's Wyatt Hendrickson in the national championship match.

Now he's moving onto the world of MMA, and Gophers fans will have a chance to go watch him compete in the cage on September 12. It's a move that many fans of combat sports have hypothesized, following the success of Minnesota wrestling legend Brock Lesnar, who eventually became a UFC Champion.

Steveson is still scheduled to compete in a jiu-jitsu event against grappling legend Craig Jones on August 31 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at CJI 2. It's a great opportunity to get back in the rhythm of combat competition against one of the best grapplers in the world.

The MMA bout against Peterson will be one that Steveson will be heavily favored to win. We've seen former wrestling legends like Lesnar, Bo Nickal and Henry Cejudo need only five pro-MMA fights or fewer before getting their UFC opportunity, so it will be fun to monitor how quickly Steveson is able to climb the ranks before getting to the big leagues.