For years, the NFL has been the finish line every college standout is taught to sprint toward. But for one former Buffalo Bills hopeful, that door closed, only to reveal an entirely different arena. After being cut before he ever suited up for a regular-season snap, he traded cleats for four-ounce gloves. This past weekend, he made sure nobody would forget his name. In his UFC debut, the former Bills player didn’t just survive the moment; he dominated it.

“Former Buffalo Bill Gable Steveson with a KNOCKOUT in his #UFC Debut!” Built in Buffalo posted on X.

Saturday night, Gable Steveson stepped into the octagon for his UFC debut against Elisha Ellison, and both guys came out throwing bombs from the start. It didn’t take long to see who had the edge. By the end of Round 1, Ellison was down, and Steveson walked away with a first-round knockout in his very first fight. Not a bad way to say hello.

For anyone who’s followed his wrestling career, this felt like it was coming. Steveson is one of the most decorated amateur wrestlers America has ever seen, so the jump to MMA always felt like the next logical move.

He fought on the undercard of UFC 329, the same card headlined by Conor McGregor and Max Holloway in their highly anticipated rematch at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, right in the thick of International Fight Week. With that much attention already on the arena, Steveson made sure some of it landed on him, too.

A lot of people in the sport already think he’s on track for something bigger, like a run at the heavyweight title. Steveson isn’t shy about those expectations either.

“I think when you believe that you can be the next big thing, that is a different story because other people say, ‘You can be.’ But you already know that you will be,” Steveson said, talking to Yahoo Sports before the fight. “So, I believe I can be the best at anything.”

Even UFC president Dana White walked away surprised by what he saw. He didn’t hold back his praise after the fight.

“It was incredible,” White said. “Normally, what happens is… You sign a big, bad-ass, high-level wrestler like that, and they come in and stink the place up and lie on the ground. That dude did the exact opposite. He looked like a mixed martial artist. He didn’t look like a wrestler to me. He’s fun. Throwing kicks and punches, willing to stand in the pocket and bang. A lot of wrestlers don’t like to get punched in the face either. He’s fun; it’s going to be interesting.”

Before any of this, Steveson took an even bigger leap of faith when he traded the wrestling mat for a football field, signing with the Buffalo Bills in the spring of 2024, despite never having played organized football in his life.

Gable Steveson’s short-lived NFL career

Football wasn’t even his first pivot; Steveson gave pro wrestling a shot, signing with WWE back in 2021. That run didn’t pan out the way he hoped, and WWE released him in May 2024.

That’s when the NFL idea came into play. Just weeks later, ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news that Steveson had agreed to a three-year deal with the Buffalo Bills, set to play defensive line for a team, even though he’d never played a single snap of football before in his life.

His first time putting on cleats came during his actual workout for the Bills. His new teammates were quick to notice just how rare that kind of talent really is. Bills veteran defensive tackle Ed Oliver put it best after a June practice at One Bills Drive.

“You talk about being the best at what you do, like (Gable) is literally the best at what he does,” Oliver said in June 2024. “He won a gold medal, and we’re in the National Football League. And, when we win a Super Bowl, it’s like we (say) we’re the best in the world, when really, like, maybe if somebody else had a football team, we might not be the best in the world, but he literally competed against the world and won gold.”

The football experiment came to an end that August, when the Bills released Steveson after three preseason games, three tackles, and a pair of quarterback hits. His standout moment came against the Bears at the old Highmark Stadium, where he logged 14 snaps, one tackle, and one pressure, according to Sports Illustrated.

Still, the whole experience left him more confident than ever.

“I can play baseball. I can play soccer. I can go out there and play cricket. I can do anything I have ever wanted. So, that’s my mindset.”