Gable Steveson ’Could Beat’ Jon Jones Or Francis Ngannou

Gable Steveson could give UFC champions Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones a run for their money, says fellow Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo.

Gable Steveson could do a real number to former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones, or even UFC Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, according to Henry Cejudo.

Steveson is currently flirting with potential runs in the WWE or UFC following his gold medal win at the recent Tokyo Summer Olympics. Fellow Olympic gold medalist Cejudo, who is also a retired two-division UFC champion, can see Steveson making a major splash in mixed martial arts (MMA), but doubts he slips on the gloves.

“The UFC can’t afford him. I’m sorry, they can afford him but they’re not gonna pay him, unfortunately, man,” Cejudo told TMZ Sports (h/t BJPenn.com). “I do believe in the next couple of years he could beat a guy like Jon Jones or even Francis Ngannou. He’s the biggest threat because of his wrestling base which is extremely scary.

“(Of course he could beat Jones and Ngannou) because he’s a real heavyweight. If you were to put him in there right now, Jon Jones would hurt him, Francis Ngannou would hurt him. I’ve been there before. When I first fought Demetrious Johnson, I had already had standup and I got knocked out at 2 minutes and 36 seconds. So you do have to respect the game. What Gable Steveson needs right now, is he needs time. Whatever he wants to dedicate himself to, he’s going to need two years (of training).”

Steveson, 21, is a Dan Hodge Trophy winner, reigning NCAA Division I National Champion, two-time Big Ten Conference champion, and a two-time All-American out of the University of Minnesota.

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