Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson to Make Dirty Boxing Debut After NFL, WWE Attempt

Gable Steveson, a highly decorated freestyle and collegiate wrestler who recently won his MMA debut, will now give dirty boxing a shot on Oct. 30, when he takes on Billy Swanson in Nashville.

Steveson will fight on Dirty Boxing Championship's card as part of their fourth event (DBX4).

Steveson, 25, dominated college wrestling in the 285-pound division while at the University of Minnesota. He was a five-time All-American, four-time Big Ten champion (2021, 2022), two-time national champion and two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner.

He also found great success internationally in freestyle wrestling, earning an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021 in the 125-kilogram division.

Steveson tried his hand at professional wrestling, signing a contract with WWE and eventually joining the WWE Performance Center to train beginning in 2022.

He did wrestle in one televised match against Baron Corbin at NXT Great American Bash in 2023. WWE ultimately released Steveson in May 2024.

Steveson then tried to latch on in the NFL and even signed a contract with the Buffalo Bills as a defensive tackle in 2024. He went to training camp and got some preseason action, but the team released him before the regular season began.

Steveson had NCAA eligibility left and wrestled this past year at Minnesota. He dominated again and won his Big Ten title. Steveson made the national championship but lost to Wyatt Hendrickson of Oklahoma State in the national championship match.

On Sept. 13, Steveson made his MMA debut at Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) 217 in Minnesota. He excelled with a technical knockout over Braden Peterson 1:38 into the match.

Now Steveson turns to dirty boxing in a fight against Swanson, a 31-year-old professional MMA fighter with a 4-3 lifetime record. He also made his bare knuckle boxing debut in August, falling to Bear Hill.