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via Reuters

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via Reuters

Gable Steveson won Olympic gold in the men’s heavyweight wrestling category. The American scored late in the bout to win the 125kg freestyle wrestling Olympic gold medal, and has been the center of all media attention ever since.

At just 21 years of age, the Indiana native has a long career ahead of him. In the last few days, there have been reports of a tug of war between the UFC and the WWE to sign the Steveson, but Olympic gold medallist solely looks to profit from his skills.

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Gable Steveson – Tokyo Olympics 2020 journey

Gable Steveson has had a very successful collegiate career. He is the reigning NCAA Division I champion and the winner of the Dan Hoge trophy. After a dominant collegiate wrestling career, Steveson took part in the US Olympic trials, as he looked to represent the US at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

He was the second seed going into the Trials, and won all his bouts, securing a spot on the wrestling team. On August 5, the 21-year-old fought in his Olympic debut at the men’s freestyle 125 kg event.

Steveson won his first three bouts with a perfect score of 23-0 to secure himself a medal and move on to the finals. He stunned reigning Olympic champion Taha Akgul of Turkey by beating him 8-0. The reigning Olympic champion stood no chance.

In the finals, he faced three-time, reigning World Champion Geno Petriashvili of Georgia. Steveson secured two successive takedowns to lead 4-0 going into the second period. Geno showed why he’s the reigning world champion as he scored 6 points via gut wrenches in quick succession. With a minute and a half left, the Georgian led 8-5.

Steveson dug deep and scored two takedowns, with the second one came with 12 seconds left on the clock. He won a closely fought battle and Geno went over and congratulated the American for winning gold.

UFC vs WWE

After his shock win in the Olympic finals, Steveson will have offers from the major wrestling and combat sports organizations. The WWE has openly shown their love for the Indiana native after his win.

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The UFC will also be interested in signing him, as many former Olympic wrestlers have become UFC champions. Henry Cejudo and Daniel Cormier are the two biggest names that switched from wrestling to MMA and became champions.

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Reports suggested the WWE had the upper hand in signing Steveson, but the 21-year-old tweeted out to Dana White earlier today. Could this be a sign that he has joined the UFC?

Also read: ?Take a Bow?- UFC Legend Daniel Cormier Lauds USA?s Tokyo Olympics Athletes in Wrestling

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