After a glorious NCAA career and a brief WWE stint, Gable Steveson has started making waves across all formats of combat sports. Recently, the Minnesota native brutally knocked out Braden Peterson in his debut MMA bout at LFA 217, silencing all the doubters. Just a month after that stunning pro-MMA victory, the former five-time All-American took on a very different challenge and passed it with flying colors.

On October 30th, Steveson made his debut in his teammate and coach Jon Jones’ promotion’s event, DBX 4, in Nashville, Tennessee, which generated massive interest among fans. The former NCAA champ’s base is in wrestling, but in his MMA debut, Steveson showed that he has real knockout power in his hands. And he proved it again by knocking out former Bellator and PFL fighter Billy Swanson in just 15 seconds. It was a beautiful sequence of strikes, but what stood out even more was that Jon Jones had perfectly predicted how the knockout would go down.

Jon Jones predicted Gable Steveson’s DBX 4 knockout perfectly 

Dirty Boxing’s Instagram account, in collaboration with Home of Fight, uploaded a clip where the former UFC two-division champ said, “Alright. My Gable prediction. Gable’s gonna jab high, throw some stiff jabs to the body, feint low, follow it up with a straight right, and get the knockout, round one.” And that’s exactly how the fight played out.

Steveson came out firing an accurate jab that immediately stunned his opponent, then followed up with a solid hook and two uppercuts to finish the fight. Although it didn’t match Jones’ prediction word-for-word, it was close enough to prove that the UFC legend might have tapped into his inner ‘Mystic Mac’, Conor McGregor’s alter ego known for predicting fights accurately.

The 25-year-old wrestler has been part of Jones’ team since the Stipe Miocic fight at UFC 309. Since then, the former UFC champ has taken on the role of a mentor in Steveson’s MMA journey. Now, Steveson looks ready to become a legitimate UFC prospect who could shake up the entire heavyweight division. After his explosive win at DBX, he wasted no time calling for a UFC contract.

Even before stepping into his first MMA bout, Gable Steveson had his sights set on the UFC. In fact, he boldly called out current heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and other top-five contenders, showing just how confident the former NCAA champ has been about his chances to make it big in the Apex MMA promotion. And at the DBX 4 event, the timing couldn’t have been better for him. 

Former NCAA champ wants to fight in the UFC 

At the DBX 4 event, UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard was in attendance to catch some exciting fights, perhaps even curious to see what Gable was truly capable of. And the top UFC brass might have been quite pleased with what he witnessed from the young heavyweight. After the All-American star scored a thunderous 15-second knockout, Steveson didn’t waste a moment before making his intentions crystal clear.

Speaking directly to the UFC executive, Steveson said, “I think a special guest was here to come watch me. Mick, you’ve seen a little bit. I would love to show a lot more. Hopefully, you believe in me, and I appreciate you.”

That was a classy and confident callout. Steveson didn’t rely on loud promises or trash talk after his quick knockout. Instead, he kept it respectful while hinting that there’s much more to come. The Minnesota native already boasts world-class wrestling credentials, which is a perfect foundation for MMA. On top of that, he’s proven he possesses genuine knockout power that can flatline opponents. All in all, Steveson looks like the total package.

At just 25, he could easily shake up the heavyweight division and make his presence felt among the baddest men in the sport. That said, do you think Gable Steveson can truly make it big in the UFC under Jon Jones’ guidance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.