Why did Gable Steveson withdraw from faceoff against Craig Jones? All about his decision before MMA debut

In an unexpected twist, Gable Steveson pulled out of competing at the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) 2 against Craig Jones, citing an injury. The faceoff was scheduled on August 31, 2025, in Las Vegas. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor Jones was poised to lock horns in a highly anticipated clash against Olympic gold medalist Gable Stevenson in his own event.

However, on Sunday night, Jones announced that Steveson has withdrawn after suffering turf toe, a sprain of the joint at the base of the big toe, during a training session. No replacement is announced to vie against the two-time ADCC silver medalist, who was looking forward to retiring from BJJ competition and leaving B-Team.

Gable Steveson is an Olympic gold medalist, a feat he achieved at the 2020 Tokyo Games in the 125kg category after defeating Georgia's Geno Petriashvili. He is also a two-time NCAA Champion in the 285lbs. After the conclusion of his NCAA career in 2025, Steveson is exploring new opportunities, anticipating his appearances at UFC and MMA. He was poised to make his debut at the LFA 217, which was scheduled on September 12, at the Mystic Lake Casino in Minnesota.

The American wrestler was set to fight against Braden Peterson in a heavyweight bout. After the recent injury, it is yet to be seen if the former NCAA champion will still make his MMA debut.

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

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

In the Overdogs Podcast with Mike Perry, Steveson opened up about his mindset for competing in UFC. When asked about the fighters he wants to face, Steveson mentioned Tom Aspinall, Ciryl Ganes, and Alexander Volkovs. He also showed confidence in giving his best performance, irrespective of the opponent he would fight against.

"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.

"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." (52:00 onwards)

Gable Steveson's NCAA career concluded after he suffered a shocking defeat against Wyatt Hendrickson.