Gable Steveson makes feelings known about potentially facing Tom Aspinall in an MMA ring

Gable Steveson recently revealed the martial artist he would like to lock horns with, while previously having speculated on his future in MMA. Following his recent NCAA Championships loss, Steveson contemplated a potential MMA career.

In a recent episode of the Overdogs podcast, Steveson opined that after Jon Jones retires, Tom Aspinall will likely to the top contender in the heavyweight category. Highlighting his determination and grit to always give his best performance, Steveson said he wants to face the formidable athletes of the sport, including Aspinall, Ciryl Gane, and Alexander Volkov.

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

"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, we gonna fight to it," he added.

Aspinall made his UFC debut in July 2020 and has been successful in etching his name as a fierce rival after earning major victories, including Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Gable Steveson expresses his feelings after a shocking loss at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championship

Gable Stevenson during the 2023 Beat the Streets Final X Wrestling event in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Gable Steveson competed at the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships in the 285 lbs category. However, he was kept away from collecting his third NCAA title after a defeat against Oklahoma State's Wyatt Hendrickson.

In an interview with Pat McAfee after the loss, Steveson reflected on the impact of wrestling in his life while accepting the result gracefully.

"For a long time now I've been like damn I get to wake up," Gable Steveson said. "I have a home, I have a house, I get to eat good food, I get to see the world, I get to go places that nobody may ever see and I think a lot of people were expecting just a really bad reaction from me but, at the end of the day I've done so many great things, I have met so many great people, I have been in so many great places, I would never take that for granted."

Hendrickson overpowered Gable Steveson in a thrilling bout with a 5-4 win.