Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson is officially set to make his UFC debut, drawing Elisha Ellison in a heavyweight bout on the UFC 329 prelims.
The matchup is scheduled for Sat., July 11, 2026, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, giving Steveson his first Octagon appearance after a 3-0 professional start in MMA, with all previous opponents finished.
Steveson, a two-time NCAA Division I heavyweight champion who trains in Albuquerque, New Mexico, addressed fellow Albuquerque heavyweight Josh Hokit ahead of his debut. “We’ve been in the same room many times,” Steveson said.
“Josh is doing a fantastic job of what Josh does and good for him … No, it’s not tough for me to go against Josh Hokit. I honestly heard that Josh Hokit was going to go down to 205 [pounds] from someone. So if he does go down, that would be a great decision for him in the long run.”
Hokit has recently won four fights quickly to rise from unranked to a title threat in the UFC heavyweight division and has frequently called out Alex Pereira for a heavyweight fight in the last month. There has been speculation about Hokit potentially moving down to light heavyweight, but he has made no public comment about doing so.
