Gable Steveson delivered a statement victory at UFC 329 in Las Vegas, stopping Elisha Ellison in the first round of their heavyweight bout and earning instant praise from UFC president Dana White.
Steveson, now 4-0 in professional MMA and 1-0 in the UFC, finished Ellison with a barrage of punches, elbows, and body and oblique kicks, choosing not to rely on his wrestling in his Octagon debut. Ellison drops to 5-3 overall and 0-2 in the UFC with the loss.
At the UFC 329 post-fight press conference, White’s reaction was emphatic. “It was incredible,” he said, before expanding on what impressed him most about Steveson’s performance.
“Normally what happens, especially for as long as I've been in this business, you sign a big, badass, high-level wrestler like that, they come and stink the place up and lay 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, punches, and willing to stand in the pocket and bang. A lot of wrestlers don't like to get punched in the face. So yeah, he's fun. It's going to be interesting.”
Steveson, a 2020 Summer Olympics gold medalist, two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner, and two-time NCAA Division I national champion from the University of Minnesota, has now finished all four of his professional MMA opponents in the first round after making his pro debut in September.
