7 Gable Steveson Opponent Ideas For His July UFC Debut, Including Tai Tuivasa
Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images What many fight fans thought would eventually happen was made official on Saturday night. During the broadcast for UFC 327 , the promotion announced that they had officially inked Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Gable Steveson to a contract, and he will make his debut during International Fight Week in July. Now, arguably, the most dominant wrestler at any level over the last five years enters the UFC heavyweight division .
While the 25-year-old only has three fights on his resume, new UFC fans may not know, and older ones may have forgotten that heavyweight legend Cain Velasquez joined the company in 2008 with a 2-0 record. But the UFC must still be smart in how they curate the schedule for a fighter who could become one of the faces of the company for the next decade. With that in mind, let’s look at some potential options for his UFC debut.
Felipe Franco Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images It will be hard for the company to find an opponent with as little in-cage experience as Steveson. So matchmakers will likely put him against fighters who are also fairly new to the company. After a strong run on the Brazilian MMA circuit, Felipe Franco made his UFC debut last month.
Falling to Mario Pinto by unanimous decision. While Franco is a dangerous finisher, at around 230 pounds, he is on the smaller side for a heavyweight. He has never faced a wrestler anywhere close to Steveson’s skillset, or a grappler that weighs around 260 and is as powerful.
The American would have some clear advantages. Elisha Ellison Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images With only seven fights on his resume, Elisha Ellison is one of the few UFC heavyweights who is as inexperienced as Steveson. “The Snack Panther” made his promotion debut in September and was TKO’d in Round 1 by Brando Peričić.