Dana White Reacts to Ex-WWE Star Gable Steveson's 'Incredible' UFC Debut After TKO Win vs. Ellison

UFC President Dana White heaped praise on Gable Steveson following his successful UFC debut on Saturday night.

A former Olympic wrestler and WWE Superstar, Steveson beat Elisha Ellison by first-round knockout at UFC 329 on Saturday, and White suggested during the post-fight press conference that he liked what he saw (beginning at the 5:30 mark of the video).

"It was incredible," White said. "Normally what happens is ... you sign a big, bad-ass, high-level wrestler like that, they come in 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, willing to stand in the pocket and bang. A lot of wrestlers don't like to get punched in the face either. He's fun, it's gonna be interesting."

The 26-year-old Steveson is best known for his amateur wrestling career, as he won an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Summer Games, and won national titles in the heavyweight division at the University of Minnesota in both 2021 and 2022.

Steveson tried his hand at pro wrestling after that, signing with WWE in 2021, but the transition did not go according to plan.

He wrestled only a handful of matches in WWE, and most of them were at untelevised live events or in dark matches.

The lone exception occurred at NXT Great American Bash 2023 when Steveson and Baron Corbin fought to a double count-out.

WWE released Steveson in May 2024, prompting him to briefly attempt to make it in the NFL. Steveson spent training camp and the preseason with the Buffalo Bills in 2024, but he was cut prior to the regular season.

That prompted Steveson to make the move to MMA, and the early returns have been good.

Steveson won each of his first three MMA bouts in 2025 and 2026 by KO or TKO, and he officially signed with UFC back in April.

Saturday marked his first UFC bout, and given how dominant Steveson looked, there could potentially be some major opportunities in his future.