Steveson Claims He’s Ready For Pereira and Aspinall
Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA Division champion Gable Steveson claims that he is already good enough to compete with Alex Pereira and Tom Aspinall.
Steveson secured another win in his third professional MMA bout at Mexican Fight League 3, beating Hugo Lezama in a first-round stoppage. The win moves him closer to a potential UFC contract. Steveson has spent less than 10 minutes of total cage time across his first three fights.
Should the UFC move to sign Steveson after his latest win, there will be a lot of expectations on the 25-year-old. Joe Rogan recently placed Steveson in the UFC’s “elite tier,” while former welterweight Matt Brown went a step further, stating Steveson could be champion “literally today.” Steveson feels he is ready to compete with the elite fighters.
Gable Reacts
“Those three big names — Pereira, Aspinall, Gane — I can compete with most definitely. Especially right now. But if you keep giving me time, the gap will keep coming in with the youthfulness that I have, with those guys being a little older. Tom is a little older, but Pereira, (much) older. Gane, (much) older. “As time goes on, you don’t get any faster,” Steveson said
If Gable does find himself in the UFC, he has been warned about the pressures that come with it. The heavyweight division is arguably at a weak point. Jon Jones is unlikely to come back even if he has reversed his retirement. Dana White has said the chances of him fighting on the UFC White House card are a billion to one, while Jones has stated that he suffers from arthritis in his hip. Meanwhile, Tom Aspinall recently underwent double eye surgery, meaning that his future remains uncertain. During a prior conversation between Gable and Rogan, the latter warned him about the pressures of the UFC.
The Future
“It’s gonna be dependent upon you, right, and it’s gonna be a rocket ride that you are on. The pressure and just the overall — like not being able to go to the mall is gonna be weird. It’s gonna get weird. You’re gonna get mobbed at the airport. You’re gonna have to figure out a way to have your own private time. That’s very important.
“When guys never have private time, they’re always surrounded by people, you could lose yourself, you could lose your way. And just fame itself. Very complicated for people, especially for fighters. When your entire identity relies on the way other people perceive you, that’s not good. It feels good when you’re on top…but if you rely on other people’s opinions of you…the moment you stumble…they’re affecting your own feelings,” Rogan said
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