Gable Steveson makes an appeal to upcoming fighters as he watches Merab Dvalishvili train for UFC 316

Gable Steveson was seen watching Merab Dvalishvili train for UFC 316 alongside John Wood, as he made an appeal to the fighters to consider him if they needed a new coach. Steveson expressed his wish to become the UFC heavyweight champion.

Steveson was last seen in action during the 2025 NCAA Championships in the heavyweight category's final match. He locked horns with Oklahoma State's Wyatt Hendrickson, who won the clash with a score of 5-4, leaving Steveson in second.

Shortly after this, the former University of Minnesota wrestler spoke about his interest in pursuing a career in MMA. Most recently, he was seen watching the current UFC Bantamweight champion, Dvalishvili, train for UFC 316, which is scheduled for June 7, 2025, alongside the coach of Syndicate MMA, Wood. The latter shared two pictures on his Instagram handle, where both observed the training while sitting outside the ring.

After this experience, Gable Steveson made an appeal to the upcoming fighters to contact him if they needed a coach on his Instagram story. Sharing a picture of sitting with Woods, he wrote:

"If any fighters need a new corner man/coach please feel free and reach out lol!" wrote Steveson.

He also added:

"@bigwoodman (John Wood) can vouch for me😂😂😂"

Gable Steveson opened up about his mindset if an opportunity arrives in UFC

After trying his hand in the NFL and WWE, Gable Steveson is eyeing the UFC world. He made an appearance on the Over Dogs podcast, where he opened up about his mindset about competing in UFC. Along with this, he was also asked by the contenders if he was interested in fighting in the 365-pound category.

Steveson took the names of the world-class fighters, including Jon Jones, the reigning champion, and Tom Aspinall, the interim title holder. Adding more names like Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov, he said:

"When Jon [Jones] finally hangs it up, the next best guy in the line is Tom Aspinall. Someone's gotta take that off his shoulder. You always wanna go against Tom Aspinalls. You always wanna go against [Ciryl] Ganes. You wanna go against [Alexander] Volkovs. You wanna go against Serghei [Spivac] and you wanna put on your best performance, but honestly, it don't matter," said Gable Steveson.

He added:

"There's never been a time where I ran from somebody else and now it's not gonna be the time and now when the day comes where I gotta stand in the octagon and gotta look at another dude in the eye and fight to the death, sh*t we gonna fight to it."

Gable Steveson holds one Olympic gold medal in the 125kg division, which he won in the 2020 Tokyo Games. Along with this, he holds two NCAA and four Big Ten titles.

About the author

An English Honors graduate, Nancy is a journalist at Sportskeeda covering US Olympic sports. She has a total experience of 4 years, having previously worked as a Marketing Executive for BYJU’S before finding her footing at SK.

To deliver the best content, Nancy keeps herself updated by reading as much as possible about the athletes and the sport, and believes that researching and trusting credible sources is the key to reporting ethical and accurate information.

Track and Field events particularly interest Nancy, and she is a fan of Allyson Felix. While she cherished each of her victories, her favorite Olympic moment happens to be the retired athlete’s 10th medal at the Games.

Nancy believes that covering the personal lives and training sessions of the Olympic athletes, and showcasing old podcasts or interviews would help bridge the coverage gap of the sport in its off season.

When away from her keyboard, Nancy spends most of her free time reading books. She also writes poems and plans on publishing a book.

Know More

Edited by Hitesh Nigam