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Gable Steveson just won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling for Team USA in Tokyo, and now the 21-year-old has a slew of lucrative options on the table. In between chatting with WWE’s Triple H and setting up an interview with the world’s most popular podcaster Joe Rogan, Steveson chatted with Heavy on Tuesday about the cryptic message he sent earlier in the day to UFC president Dana White.
“Who wouldn’t want to be the baddest UFC champion on the planet? You know what I’m saying? I’m the baddest wrestler at 125 kilograms in freestyle wrestling for the Olympics. Who wouldn’t want to go out there and showcase your fighting skills and become the UFC champion?” Steveson said.
You can see the message Steveson sent to White via social media below. Steveson sent the waving hand emoji.
Some people on the Internet interpreted Steveson’s tweet as a message to White about sending his congrats to the Olympic champ for his stunning run at Tokyo 2020.
After all, White and the UFC had sent their well-wishes to at least two other Olympic champions, including David Taylor and Tamyra Mensah-Stock, so some believed Steveson was attempting to prompt the same thing for him.
“No, no, no,” Steveson said. “He’ll send his congratulations when he sends his congratulations. I’m not worried about that.”
Instead, Steveson said the message was sent to let White know he’s ready to start fielding offers.
“That was a tweet for me to start something up and let him know I’m here,” Steveson said.
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UFC Would Have To Compete vs. NFL and WWE
Steveson is one of the most dynamic athletes in the world, so he’s likely to field a lot of offers from various companies.
He could also choose to return to the University of Minnesota and continue his collegiate wrestling career. That path was made much easier after the NCAA began to allow NIL deals for athletes such as the one Steveson recently signed with Kill Cliff.
Steveson is also likely to be courted by WWE and the NFL.
The athletic phenom said he hasn’t received an offer from the UFC just yet, but he’s hoping to hear from them soon.
“Most definitely, UFC is something I’m interested in,” Steveson said.
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Can UFC Compete?
Beyond UFC, WWE and NFL, there are likely to be plenty of other suitors, too.
Steveson was the NCAA heavyweight champion in 2021, and he thought the world had opened up for him after this massive victory at that level. But after grabbing Olympic gold with an epic comeback in the last six seconds of the match?
And after celebrating with the dynamic flip that turned out to be one of the most viral moments in Olympic history?
Things somehow got even better for Steveson.
“The world has opened its door for me to pick an option to where I want to go, and I’m going to step in, see my options, and play it out well,” Steveson said.
Steveson could end up choosing the UFC, but White will probably need to bring his best possible offer to help make that happen.
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