Dana White drew on CM Punk as an example of why he’s not worried about transitioning Gable Steveson from wrestling into UFC.

Steveson has just signed with UFC having carved out an impressive collegiate wrestling career and won gold at the Olympics in Tokyo. He joined WWE initially in 2021 as part of the NIL program, eventually released in 2024 and spending an off-season with the Buffalo Bills before finally settling on MMA as his path forward.

But the UFC President appears to have no concerns regarding his new fighter, drawing on another to have jumped from scripted to legitimate grappling during the UFC Fight Night 273 Press Conference. 

“CM Punk fought here,” he said with a smile. “We’ll find somebody. I don’t know if we go after a top 15 guy. I say this to you guys all the time, the UFC jitters are real. I don’t care how you’ve competed or where, or what you’ve done, when you come here, it’s a different level. [We’re] the best in the business. We’ll figure him out and get him the right fight. When I say that I mean, at what we think is level is and what we think he’s capable of.” 

Steveson is 3-0 in MMA having started at heavyweight in September last year, and having last fought in February in Monterrey, Mexico. He won all three via first-round finishes. Part of his coaching and mentoring team is former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, who sat alongside him at UFC 327 when his signing was announced.